(Bloomberg) -- For weeks now, followers of the fringe conspiracy group QAnon have been spinning theories and falsehoods about Walt Disney Co. online, whipping up a frenzy of negative sentiment against one of America’s best-known corporations.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Posts on Facebook, Twitter and several other platforms have falsely claimed the company has lost $636 million in theme-park reservations and that 350,000 people have canceled their subscriptions to the company’s Disney+ streaming service. Some have even linked to a fake article stating that Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek was arrested for human trafficking and child pornography.
While many of the posts have been taken down and debunked by websites such as Politifact and FactCheck.org, that hasn’t slowed the vitriol against the company on the forums and Telegram channels where believers in QAnon operate. Some of the commentators have even taken a page from the meme stock movement, sharing half-baked strategies to tank Disney’s shares.
“It’s all nonsense, but Q believers love this kind of thing, because it gives them something to fight against,” said Mike Rothschild, author of “The Storm Is Upon Us,” a book about QAnon.
Disney had already drawn the ire of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other conservatives over its opposition to a schools bill banning discussion of sexual orientation among the youngest students in the state. DeSantis signed legislation on April 22 dissolving a special municipal...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Please support us by becoming a premi...