From Absolute Trust To Despicable Betrayal: Disney’s Fall Accelerates Into The Abyss Of Woke Greed

Many corporations, universities, and school boards have fallen under the perverse spell of “wokeism.” All have paid the price; some have learned, some have not. Those who haven’t learned the ramifications continue to be dangerous, committing racial and sexual discrimination while standing on the phony platform of inclusiveness and equality.

One of the corporations that elicits the broadest range of emotions, from sadness to disappointment to outrage, is the Disney corporation. Individual universities and school boards that are poisoning young minds with all things woke are horrific enough, but Disney is broadcasting it worldwide via Television, movies, and on social media, which is the ultimate betrayal.

This is a conglomerate that, from the very beginning, targeted children. From its original television shows, “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” and/or “The Wonderful World of Disney,” its programming and films were trusted by adults. Later, when it expanded into theme parks, they too were thought of as the ultimate family destinations.

Over the last decade, its films have cratered at the box office due to its woke changes. In the previous three years alone, these cinematic disasters have cost Disney studios around $1 billion. Flops such as “Little Mermaid,” “Lightyear,” “Elemental,” and the ultra-woke remake of “Snow White,” called by many “Snow Woke.”

In June of 2023, Latondra Newton Stepped down as Chief Diversity Officer at Disney. It was under her misguided, DEI-driven watch Disney introduced Gay, lesbian, transgender, non-binary, and other minority types into its animated series and films.

The company also implemented other unnecessary woke changes, including outfitting Minnie Mouse in a blue pantsuit instead of her traditional red and white polka-dot dress.

You would think that even the slowest learners, whether individuals or a corporation, would have learned the lesson that people want to be entertained rather than lectured or indoctrinated by television or films. Sadly, Disney has not.

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission fined Disney $10 million for secretly collecting personal data from children under 13 years old. The scheme was deliberate and revolting, driven by nothing but greed with total disregard for the well-being of children.

The company intentionally mislabeled hundreds of its YouTube videos to bypass child protection regulations, enabling Google’s platform to gather private information from children without their parents’ knowledge.

Under federal law, companies cannot collect data from children under 13 without explicit parental permission, as required by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. However, Disney discovered a loophole.

By not categorizing their child-oriented videos as “Made for Kids” on YouTube, they permitted the platform to treat children like adult consumers, making them targets for data collection and targeted advertising.

The loophole did not fool the Department of Justice. They were aware that Disney was exploiting an FTC rule. Especially since in mid-2020, YouTube warned Disney that approximately 300 of its videos were not properly labeled to comply with federal law concerning child protection standards.

Ignoring the warnings, while enjoying the profits, Disney tossed any thought of children’s welfare to the wind. The company received a share of every advertising dollar generated by YouTube from ads placed on Disney’s mislabeled videos. As children watched Disney content, the platform collected their browsing habits, location data, and personal preferences to create detailed profiles for advertisers.

Forget the idea of wishing on a star; Disney’s magic has been replaced with bottom-line greed. The company clearly chose its profits over children’s welfare, which is nothing new for this version of the company.

Don’t be fooled by the $10 million fine. Disney, and all the other companies playing this same exploitation game, know exactly what they are doing. They have all precalculated the fines they expect to receive and view it as nothing more than a cost of doing business.

Disney has effectively told both parents and their children that they are no longer their highest priority, which begs the question: Why should any parent ever trust them again?

One of my favorite authors and poets, Maya Angelou, imparted a pearl of wisdom that we all should follow. She stated, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

This is not the same Disney that many of us fell in love with long ago, and it’s high time to believe them when they tell us who they are now. Their behavior circumvents their words; the company has made its choice, now it’s time for Americans to show firms like Disney what we will and won’t tolerate.

This is a company that is exploiting children openly as well as behind the scenes. Morality is not a passing phase. You fooled us for a while, Disney, now it’s time for you to reap what you have sown.