MAGA is losing it over Netflix’s winning bid to purchase Warner Bros., claiming it will somehow lead to CNN becoming the “Obama News Network” if the deal goes through.
Leading the meltdown is the far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who claims that the acquisition would give the Obamas a “cultural reach unmatched by any political family in modern history, effectively creating an ‘Obama News Network.’”
Netflix’s winning bid was announced on Friday and is worth a staggering $82.7 billion in enterprise value. It includes the studio’s streaming business—mainly HBO Max—but does not include CNN, which will remain part of a Warner Bros. spinoff named “Discovery Global”—a separate publicly traded entity slated to be created next year.
The MAGA reporter Jack Posobiec, famous for spreading the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy, claimed that the acquisition is part of a years-long influence scheme by the Obamas dating back to 2018. He claims the plan involves Susan Rice, a former top Obama adviser who now sits on Netflix’s board.
“Netflix signed their Obama deal in 2018 and put Susan Rice on the board,” Posobiec, who has White House credentials, wrote. “Then, Rice went to the Biden Admin. In 2023, Susan Rice rejoined the Netflix board. In 2024, Netflix signed a massive expansion of their Obama deal.”
He wrote in a second post, “This is all about Obama taking over media.”
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a disgraced MAGA Republican who was the president’s initial choice to be attorney general last year, urged his replacement, Pam Bondi, to shut down the acquisition.
“TRUMP MUST STOP THIS! The DOJ and @PamBondi will surely see this as an anti-trust violation and deeply harmful to the marketplace,” he posted to X. “The most massive content distributor lashing to a massive content producer/catalog will create a homogenized, woke nightmare for the media landscape.”
Charles R. Downs, a self-described “America First” influencer, said the acquisition means the Obamas can no longer allege there is racism in the media.
“The Netflix-Warner Bros deal puts the Obamas on the verge of owning a streaming monopoly,” he wrote on X. “With that in mind, it’s absurd that Michelle Obama is still running around screaming ‘racism’ every other day.”
Other right-wing accounts took an even less nuanced position of the potential acquisition.
The page “End Wokeness,” which boasts 3.9 million followers, suggested that movies would cast Black actors in roles typically portrayed by white performers, using a photoshopped image of Harry Potter as an example.
The purchase is not a done deal just yet. The acquisition requires sign-off from the Justice Department, which must weigh antitrust issues and other regulatory matters in a process that typically takes years.
Some Republicans have opposed the takeover, not out of irrational fear of an Obama takeover, but because of the potential for Netflix to have a streaming monopoly.
“This potential transaction, if it were to materialize, would raise serious competition questions—perhaps more so than any transaction I’ve seen in about a decade,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said Wednesday. “When Netflix has real competition, viewers and artists win.”
Democrats have also spoken out against the merger, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“This deal looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare,” she posted to X. “A Netflix-Warner Bros. would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market. It could force you into higher prices, fewer choices over what and how you watch, and may put American workers at risk.”
Many others expressed fears that the acquisition could spell further trouble for movie theaters. Unlike traditional movie studios, Netflix does not adhere to conventional theatrical distribution; instead, it limits showings for its biggest films.
“It’s no secret that this was probably the least desired outcome for many theater owners,” Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, told CNBC. “There are no two ways around that.”
