It is false that the CEO of Netflix is ​​accused of child pornography

By Madison Czopek - Politifact

If you have been watching Netflix shows to overcome the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, you may have been surprised to see claims on the Internet about the alleged criminal behavior of the CEO of the company.

"Kim Martin Morrow has just been charged with 15 counts of child pornography, 31,000 files were found on his computers of child pornography of children from 8 years old and younger," reads the text of a publication that spread on different platforms of social networks.

"I think the investigation was necessary. #SaveOurChildren," says the post.

In the text there is often a link to a story titled: "Senator Ted Cruz Calls for Criminal Investigation into Netflix Movie

."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook's efforts to combat fake news and misinformation on its platform.

(Read more about Politifact's association with Facebook.)

In reality, the CEO of Netflix has not been charged with these crimes.

The false claims have been debunked multiple times, but some social media users continue to spread the misinformation.

Netflix cancellations have quintupled in the last five days for offering a movie considered controversial

Sept.

18, 202000: 22

The CEO of Netflix

The first thing we will say is that the rumor incorrectly identifies the CEO of the company, which is actually Reed Hastings.

PolitiFact searched news archives and found no evidence that Hastings had been charged with any crime.

It is not clear where the name "Kim Martin Morrow" comes from;

based on our searches, it is used only in these inaccurate claims.

None of Netflix's eight senior executives or its 12 directors is named Kim Martin Morrow.

So why are social media users falsely linking a fake Netflix CEO to child pornography charges?

That is a bit tricky.

Claims of child pornography

The child pornography allegations came after Netflix released the French film

, which was met with criticism from subscribers and other Internet users.

Many say the film inappropriately sexualizes girls as young as 11.

This prompted some Internet users to ask Netflix customers to cancel their subscriptions with the hashtag #CancelNetflix.

Netflix has defended the movie.

"

 is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children," a spokesperson said in a statement to Variety magazine, "it is an award-winning film and a powerful story about the pressure girls face on social media and in general. , of society growing up, and we encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to see the film. "

Film director Maïmouna Doucouré, who won a directing award at Sundance, argues that her film criticizes, rather than promotes, the hypersexualization of children.

"I am eager to see their reaction when they realize that we are both on the same side in this fight against hypersexualization of young children," Doucouré said of critics during an interview.

An Instagram post that we are verifying also uses the hashtag "SaveOurChildren", which is linked to QAnon's unsubstantiated conspiracy theory.

QAnon supporters promote the belief that President Donald Trump is covertly working to bring down a child trafficking ring run by celebrities and prominent Democrats.

The FBI considers QAnon a potential national terrorist threat.

But streaming a controversial movie is not a crime, and Netflix's CEO has not been charged with any crime, as the post claims.

Our failure

The social media posts state: "Kim Martin Morrow, the CEO of Netflix, has just been indicted on 15 counts of child pornography."

Verification Tag-FALSE-PolitifactPolitifact-Telemundo

Netflix's CEO is Reed Hastings and he has not been charged with any crime.

The claims appear to be the result of a backlash over a Netflix movie that many say hypersexualizes young children.

We rate the statement about the CEO of Netflix as

.

This data verification was translated into Spanish thanks to the

#Chatbot