A rumor that the television network ABC lost 1 million subscribers after Tesla owner and Republican megadonor Elon Musk called for its boycott circulated online in fall 2024. For example, the Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub posted about it on Oct. 31:
1 million ABC subs vanish after Musk's boycott call
ABC Loses Almost 1 Million Subscribers Overnight After elon Musk's Boycott Call
(Facebook/SpaceX Fanclub)
This is not the first time the page posted about this rumor. The first time was on Sept. 16, 2024, days after the presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump hosted by ABC.
The fictional story spread after the moderators of the debate were widely criticized in Republican circles for fact-checking Trump's assertions.
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence that Musk ever called for people to boycott ABC.
The claim originated from a page that is satirical in nature. SpaceX Fanclub's Facebook intro stated: "We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real." The above post also included a "RATED SATIRE" label in the top left.
Also, the pinned comment below the most recent post linked to an article on Esspots.com — a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. The article read:
ABC Loses Almost 1 Million Subscribers Overnight After Elon Musk's Boycott Call
In what may go down as one of the most dramatic media shake-ups of the year, ABC has reportedly lost almost 1 million subscribers overnight. The reason? One tweet from tech mogul Elon Musk, who, after witnessing what he described as "blatant bias" during ABC's recent presidential debate coverage, called for a full-blown boycott of the network. As with most things involving Musk, the fallout was swift, chaotic, and absolutely meme-worthy.
Esspots.com's disclaimer states:
Welcome to the US page of 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 is dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in fake news and absurdity, all with a healthy dose of humor and satire.
Esspots.com and SpaceX Fanclub have a history of making up stories for shares and comments, sometimes relying on artificial-intelligence writing software to do its storytelling.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims stemming from the satirical site in the past, including the assertion that Musk would acquire ABC to rid it of its "wokeness."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.