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.
The Twitter/X tycoon’s simple but potent call to arms came after the highly anticipated Trump vs. Harris debate, moderated by ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis. While presidential debates are always hotbeds of contention, this one hit a new level of absurdity, with Musk’s ire specifically aimed at what he saw as the moderators’ heavy-handed fact-checking of Donald Trump. According to Musk and his followers, Harris received much lighter treatment during the debate, prompting Musk to jump in and declare ABC unwatchable.
“ABC is worse than your Wi-Fi during a Zoom call,” Musk tweeted late into the night. “Boycott them. Let’s show them who really runs the show.”
And just like that, the internet was ablaze.
Elon Musk, the man who can send cryptocurrency prices into a tailspin with a single meme and has Tesla’s stock bouncing like a rubber ball, has now proven that his influence extends beyond tech and into the heart of mainstream media. His followers, an eclectic mix of tech enthusiasts, libertarians, crypto investors, and those simply in awe of his spacefaring dreams, wasted no time jumping on the boycott bandwagon.
Within hours, #BoycottABC was trending across Twitter/X like wildfire, igniting furious debates about media bias, free speech, and whether or not Musk should start his own TV network on Mars (a suggestion that gained more support than it probably should have).
It didn’t take long for the digital stampede to show real-world consequences.
By morning, ABC’s subscription base was crumbling faster than a stale cookie. Nearly 1 million subscribers, many of them long-time viewers, had canceled their ABC streaming services. Platforms connected to ABC, like Hulu, also began to feel the pinch as Musk’s followers opted to abandon anything even remotely affiliated with the network. Some claimed they were “purging” their apps to make sure no corporate wokeness survived the Musk-fueled purge.
For those unfamiliar with the debate that kicked off this media firestorm, it all went down during the much-anticipated Trump vs. Harris presidential debate. Moderated by ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis, the event quickly became a battlefield of interruptions, fact-checking, and thinly veiled frustration.
According to Musk and countless others, the moderators spent the bulk of the debate correcting Trump’s claims while letting Harris off the hook. “It felt more like the Harris Fan Club than a debate,” one Musk supporter tweeted in outrage. “They let her do a TED Talk, but Trump couldn’t get a sentence out without a fact-check hammer dropping.”
This sentiment echoed throughout the night, but it wasn’t until Musk—never one to keep his thoughts to himself—publicly declared his displeasure that the floodgates opened.
“We need to fight back against biased media,” Musk tweeted. “ABC has lost it. They don’t care about fairness anymore. Let’s show them that viewers still have power.”
That was all it took. Musk’s legion of loyal fans needed no further encouragement. The countdown to ABC’s mass exodus began.
Caught off guard by the immediate backlash, ABC scrambled to respond to the rapidly unfolding disaster. Executives quickly issued a statement, attempting to tamp down the flames:
“ABC remains committed to providing fair and balanced coverage for all political events. We strive for journalistic integrity and welcome constructive feedback from all of our viewers.”
But by the time ABC’s PR department had finished crafting this boilerplate response, the damage was already done. Musk had weaponized his Twitter/X platform with laser-like precision, and ABC’s subscriber base was shrinking faster than a black hole.
“It’s not just about the debate,” one disgruntled former subscriber said after canceling his service. “It’s about the media thinking they can tell us what to think. If Elon Musk says they’ve gone too far, I believe him.”
Whether or not this mass cancellation is temporary or a long-term problem for ABC remains to be seen, but early indications suggest that the boycott may have staying power. Musk’s fans, after all, are nothing if not fiercely loyal, and once they decide to stand by their tech overlord, they don’t easily back down.
Naturally, the next question on everyone’s mind is, “What’s next for Musk?” After singlehandedly derailing ABC’s subscriber base, many are speculating that Musk might take this opportunity to expand his empire beyond social media, cars, and space exploration.
Some of his more entrepreneurial followers have already begun campaigning for Musk to launch his own television network. “Forget ABC. We need X TV—where free speech actually means something!” one supporter tweeted.
Could Musk actually launch a television network dedicated to unfiltered debate and free speech, free from the “biased” fact-checkers of mainstream media? While the idea may sound absurd, Musk’s track record suggests that he thrives on taking bold, unconventional risks—and making them work.
It wouldn’t be the first time he ventured into uncharted territory. After all, Musk started with electric cars when everyone told him it couldn’t be done, then he launched rockets to Mars, and now he’s making waves in social media. Why wouldn’t the next logical step be to take over mainstream media?
“We’ll see,” Musk teased in a tweet when asked about his future media ambitions. “ABC is just the beginning.”
As expected, Musk’s boycott sparked a firestorm of reactions on social media. Supporters praised him for “sticking it to the biased media,” while critics accused him of using his influence to suppress free speech by encouraging a boycott of a network trying to hold candidates accountable.
“Elon Musk is not saving free speech—he’s trying to silence a network that dared to fact-check his preferred candidate,” one media critic tweeted. “This is a dangerous precedent.”
But for every critic, there were ten more Musk supporters ready to defend his actions. “It’s not about silencing ABC,” one Twitter/X user responded. “It’s about holding them accountable. If they can’t deliver fair news, they don’t deserve our money.”
With nearly a million subscribers gone overnight and the #BoycottABC movement showing no signs of slowing down, ABC now faces a tough decision: Will they attempt to appease the Musk-initiated revolt by altering their approach to political coverage, or will they double down on their editorial stance and weather the storm?
The network is already scrambling to hold emergency meetings, with executives allegedly brainstorming ways to win back the lost audience. Rumors of an apology—or at least some kind of concession—are swirling, though ABC has yet to make any further announcements beyond their initial statement.
One thing’s for sure, though: Elon Musk’s grip on public discourse has reached a new level, and ABC is feeling the heat. Whether the network can recover from this unprecedented subscriber loss is up for debate, but for now, the score is clear: Musk 1, ABC 0.