ABC Loses 1 Million Viewers After Elon Musk Calls for People to Boycott the Network?

In the fall of 2024, a rumor spread online that ABC had lost 1 million subscribers after Tesla owner and Republican megadonor Elon Musk called for a boycott. For example, the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page. wrote about it October 31:

1 million ABC subscribers disappear after Musk calls for boycott

ABC Loses Almost 1 Million Subscribers Overnight After Elon Musk Calls for Boycott

(Facebook/SpaceX Fan Club)

This is not the first time the page has posted this rumor. The first time was at September 16, 2024Days after the presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump, hosted by ABC.

The bogus story spread after debate moderators were widely criticized in Republican circles for Fact checking Trump’s claims.

Some readers seemed to interpret this rumor as a factual account of actual events. However, there was no evidence that Has Musk ever encouraged people to boycott ABC?.

The claim originated from a page that was satirical in nature. The SpaceX fan club’s Facebook entry said: “We are posting SATIRE, there is nothing real on this page.” The post above also included the label “RATED SATIRE” in the top left corner.

Additionally, the pinned comment under the most recent post related to article on Esspots.com is a website that describes its products as humorous or satirical in nature. The article stated:

ABC Loses Almost 1 Million Subscribers Overnight After Elon Musk Calls for Boycott

In one of the most dramatic media shakeups of the year, ABC is reported to have lost nearly 1 million subscribers overnight. Cause? One tweet from tech mogul Elon Musk, who, after witnessing what he called “clear bias” during ABC’s recent coverage of the presidential debate, called for a full-scale boycott of the network. As with most cases involving Musk, the aftermath was swift, chaotic and meme-worthy.

Esspots.com’s disclaimer it says:

Welcome to American Esspots (a subsidiary of SpaceXMania.com specializing in satire and parody news), your one-stop destination for satirical news and commentary about the United States of America. Our team of writers and editors strives to bring you the latest and greatest news on fake news and absurdity, seasoned with a healthy dose of humor and satire.

Esspots.com and the SpaceX fan club have a history of coming up with stories for reposts and comments, sometimes relying on artificial intelligence software to create their stories.

Snopes has in the past addressed similar satirical claims stemming from the satire site, including the claim that Musk will buy ABC to save him from “awakening”.

For the background here Why We warn readers about rumors spread by sources that call their content humorous or satirical.