Josh Hawley Trots Out Trans Panic Attacks On Netflix To Help Larry Ellison Buy CNN, HBO
from the building-state-television...to-protect-the-children dept
We’ve been talking about how the Trump GOP is launching an all out attack on Netflix’s proposed merger with Warner Brothers. Not because they care about antitrust or corporate power, but because they really want Trump-allied billionaire Larry Ellison to buy Warner Brothers, CNN, and HBO. It’s part of their unsubtle plan to acquire what’s left of U.S. media and turn it it to MAGA state television (see: Hungary).
Of course, if you’re a corrupt, Trump-bootheel-licking, GOP lawmaker looking to turn U.S. media (or what’s left of it) into a Trump-friendly agitprop machine, you can’t just openly admit this. So the GOP have had to dress up their attacks on Netflix as some sort of principled stand against media consolidation, “leftist propaganda,” child indoctrination, and “wokeism.” Real pudding-brained cult shit.
Enter ever-the-opportunist Josh Hawley, who “grilled” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos this week in Senate hearings, leveraging anti-trans hysteria and fear-mongering to pretend Netflix is somehow radically leftist:
“Why is it that so much of Netflix content for children promotes a transgender ideology?” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley asked Sarandos on Tuesday. “Almost half of your content for children—I’m talking about minor children now, I’m not talking about teenagers, minor children—promotes a transgender ideology agenda.”
If you’re a grown adult, you probably realize Netflix’s primary interest is in making money by producing whatever gets people’s attention. That has ranged from military dramas featuring (gasp) homosexuals (something you’ll recall made the Trump Pentagon cry), to hack comedians who like to punch down against trans folks. If Netflix has an ideology, it’s opportunism.
Hawley’s (false) claim that half of Netflix’s children’s programming supports a “trans agenda” was simply made up, and originates in a Heritage Foundation “study” making the rounds in DC designed to demonize Netflix. Allowing, as we noted above, Larry Ellison to swoop in, dominate U.S. media, and do all of the ideological bullshit the GOP is pretending to be worried about. Just like we saw with the Trump GOP’s hijacking of TikTok by weird right wing zealots like Larry Ellison and Marc Andreessen.
As I’ve noted previously, ideally you’d block all additional media consolidation, since these megadeals are consistently terrible for labor, consumers, and product quality. But that’s not happening under a Trump administration that has lobotomized all key regulators. So ideally, while not great, Netflix acquiring Warner Brothers is the best of a bunch of bad options, and probably the route Dem lawmakers and activists should be backing.
Such are the strange days we live in.
The GOP and Heritage attack on Netflix serves two functions: it either scuttles the deal so that Larry Ellison can buy Warner Brothers, and/or it forces Netflix to continually debase itself to please Trump if it wants merger approval. Since Netflix isn’t interested in CNN and Warner Brothers’ Discovery channels due to sagging ratings, it’s likely these are spun off and sold to Ellison anyway even if Netflix’s deal succeeds.
Again, look to Orban’s Hungary and Putin’s Russia if you want to see what the Heritage folks and Josh Hawley are keen on building. Our broken, corporate press is already largely incapable of being factually honest (particularly about corporate power or the GOP), and they’re well on the way toward being consolidated into what will ultimately become a 24/7 autocrat ass kissing machine.
You know, to protect the children.
Correction: an earlier version of this article accidentally said it was a Heartland Institute effort, when it’s actually the Heritage Foundation. We regret the error.
Filed Under: consolidation, disinformation, josh hawley, larry ellison, media, mergers, propaganda, state television, ted sarandos
Companies: heritage foundation, netflix
Comments on “Josh Hawley Trots Out Trans Panic Attacks On Netflix To Help Larry Ellison Buy CNN, HBO”
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Josh is Based.
Josh is based, love that dude.
Re:
Ok, groomer.
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Perfect comment for someone with a typo in their username.
Re: Based?
1st, 2nd or 3rd based?
BIASED is a better word.
How MAGA plans to stay afloat
Lies, damn lies and made up statistics.
It’s what we call a dialogue of the deaf:
Hawley: Why is it that so much of Netflix content for children promotes a transgender ideology? Almost half of your content for children — I’m talking about minor children now, I’m not talking about teenagers, minor children — promotes a transgender ideology agenda.
Sarandos: Respectfully, sir, it’s because it’s inaccurate.
Hawley: On Netflix, you’ll find that an enormous amount, and I say this as a parent with three young children, an enormous amount of your children’s programming has this ideology and agenda in it. Is this an advocacy position for Netflix? Is this an ideological commitment you have?
Sarandos: I don’t believe that’s been your personal experience.
Hawley: What do you mean you don’t think it’s been my personal experience? You don’t think that I monitor what my children watch?
Sarandos: I don’t have any idea where that number would come from or what that would be.
When you say “Heartland”, you do mean Heritage, right?
If you want to be technical, it’s actually a Concerned Women for America report that’s cited by Heritage, and that CWA thing is a marvel. They classify a show as having “Explicit” content if it features any gay or transgender characters at all, but there’s also an “Implied” category if they suspect that a character is secretly gay. It also features a screen grab of a Libs of TikTok tweet, which is the apex of professionalism if you ask me.
I thought it was because we need giant traceable bank accounts so no one can have unwanted or anonymous speech or reporting on the Internet because of the terrorists somehow.
I already did the Chappelle reference, right?
Josh Hawley.
Please stop working with pedophiles first. Other go fuck off you child raping pos. I bet you have abused your children.
I continue to reiterate my general assumption for navigating life and professional safeguarding responsibilities when working with children that there are two kinds of people who push transphobic rhetoric to weaken protections for children. Convicted paedophiles, and the ones who have not yet been found out.
Well, MAGA is a cult, so, naturally, they do cult things. “MAGA uber alles” is their only focus.
FOR ALL THE Vid on Netflix
How in Hell did you wonder thru 40-60 years worth of Child media and come up with that Idea?
And as an Assumption, they are an ASS.
I would ask for a Substantial Selection of the media they are talking about.
NOT to Forget that Children under 12, REALLY arnt sexually active or respective of WHAT is being shown on TV.
And in Current History, most of it is gender Neutral. NO GENDERS MENTIONED OR SHOWN OR INTERPRETED.
Teenagers aren't minors?
Can we just talk about this: “Almost half of your content for children—I’m talking about minor children now, I’m not talking about teenagers, minor children…” Since when are teenagers not minor children??
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Since they needed a way to avoid calling Jeffrey Epstein and his many, many conservative friends “pedophiles”.
Re: Re:
I think it’s very important that you stick to the actual facts Stephen, not every conservative was a friend of Epstein.
With that said, I just want to add that in 34 states if an older man marries a girl under the age of sexual consent, that man isn’t considered a pedophile according to the law.
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These are the same people who will defend people being into “Barely legal” 15 year olds.
Hmm, what are age of consent laws across the US again?
18: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
17: Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas
16: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington
15: ???
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Since 18 years of age in most of the U.S.A—except 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, and 113 in Mississippi and Puerto Rico.
Re: teenager
A Teenager can be 19,
They can vote, they can drive,they can buy alcohol they used to? be drafted and sent off to wars.
They might not be 21 but in every respect they are treated as an adult.
Minor children are 12 and under, they should never be seen as having adult responsibility.
Teenagers depending on age and state may have some adult responsibilities and rights.
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“Minor” usually refers to anyone under the age of majority, which is 18 years federally and 18, 19, or 21 in each state. Although it’s kind of weird that courts are willing to charge much younger people (even under 14) as adults in criminal court, but such considerations rarely affect ages of majority, or of consent to sexual activity (excepting under-age marriage, which is legal in much of the country, and emancipation).
To anyone to care.
WITH PERMISSION..
its about 14.
With a Judge
No Minimum Age: Some states have historically had no explicit statutory minimum age, although they may require court approval.
AND there are areas in Utah, that are Separate, that control Themselves to what ever the Bible says.
(LOL)