The ‘Woke Mind Virus’ Comes for Netflix, CNN+

Netflix shares cratered as much as 39% during the April 20 trading session after the streaming service reported losing subscribers in the first quarter for the first time in more than a decade. The stock's troubles have deepened since peaking at $701 in November, crumbling 60% to around $220. But while executives blame rampant price inflation and customers for password sharing, the tech-entertainment hybrid's issues are comparable to the wildly unsuccessful and hemorrhaging CNN+: It is a "woke mind virus,” says billionaire Elon Musk.

Go Woke, Go Broke

The go-to response for a lot of companies facing crippling declines in share price is that too many have embraced the wokeology doctrine, converting their products, services, corporate manifestos, and marketing materials into indoctrination sessions. Years ago, corporations bought into the mantra of “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Today, it is almost impossible for brands to ignore politics out of fear they will be accused of sinning.

Of course, businesses will adopt leftist stances on issues of the day, worried that the Red Guard Complex – a blend of the establishment press, progressive keyboard warriors, and shrieking protesters – will attempt to sink a multi-billion-dollar brand through demonstrations, boycotts, and mendacious digital crusades. However, in reality, it’s the common-sense citizenry that is avoiding entities embracing the tenets of woke dogma. Case in point, the trends of selling Netflix, ditching Disney, and ensuring that CNN+ never graces smart televisions anywhere in the home are increasingly ubiquitous.

Netflix produces tons of content, often going billions of dollars into debt to fund its ventures. These efforts have resulted in blockbusters and bombs. But they have also made Netflix “unwatchable,” tweeted Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, calling the problem a “woke mind virus.” Indeed, there is a reason it is often referred to as television programming. Whether 22 minutes or two hours, it’s often a brainwashing conference that conveys Cultural Marxist propaganda, from men having babies to Two Minutes of Anti-White Hate.

Disney stock has slumped about 20% year-to-date, with almost half of those losses plunging over the last month. For some reason, the corporate juggernaut that appears to own every brand under the sun thought it necessary to fight against legislation prohibiting teachers from educating six-year-olds about sex and gender identity. Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis is now pushing to remove the company’s self-governing status, while customers are potentially shunning the Magical Kingdom for thinking it is necessary to instruct kindergarteners about inappropriate material.

Does CNN+ even need an explanation? The latest web streaming "news" service isn’t even cracking 10,000 viewers a day. If news consumers are not watching CNN on cable television, why would they make the transition to the internet for $5.99 per month when they can watch conservative YouTubers mock fake news? As Liberty Nation's Mark Angelides recently reported regarding a YouGov poll:

"For Democrat voters, 66% considered CNN a trustworthy source, which was joint first with PBS. Of Republicans, however, only 11% believed in what the home ground of Brian Stelter and Don Lemon was pushing. Among Republican voters, only MSNBC was trusted less. When the same survey was carried out in 2020, these figures were 64% versus 12%, suggesting that the split is widening year on year."

Is There Any Escape Anymore?

Unfortunately, today’s consumer can no longer escape this mad world. From corporations to content, everything has turned into a political orgy, ensuring that these organizations and leaders inform the viewing public of their 3x5 cards of allowable opinions. Perhaps it is this attitude of being society’s betters, the anointed ones who are participating in the quest to dismantle Western civilization. But something else is happening simultaneously: Consumers are terminating their streaming subscriptions, possibly realizing that there is a wondrous world out there waiting to be explored. Life is not about being a couch potato in front of the Netflix home page or partaking in futile online debates on Twitter. The coronavirus pandemic handcuffed the public from enjoying the wonders of the planet, confined to their four walls. Maybe the population will soon evolve and choose to disconnect from streaming or the woke mind virus.