A viral claim stating 'Netflix CEO' Kim Martin Morrow was arrested on child pornography charges is found to be fake. The viral claim gained traction in the wake of the controversy surrounding the poster of 'Cuties' released on Netflix.
The streaming platform drew widespread flak for promoting a movie being termed as child porn. Made by debutant French-Senegalese filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, Cuties revolves around an eleven-year-old girl who rebels against her conservative family's traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.
Kim Martin Morrow Is Not the CEO of Netflix
The viral claim, which started through a Facebook post, claimed that the CEO of Netflix has been arrested on the charges of child pornography.
According to Heavy, on September 13, a Facebook post by Benjamin Shoch claimed "Kim Martin Morrow the CEO of Netflix has just been charged with 15 charges for child pornography and 31,000 files have been found on his personal computers for child porn from ages 8 and as young as toddlers. So, I think the investigation was needed. #SaveOurChildren."
The post had a link to a WBTW article about Texas Senator Ted Cruz demanding Department of Justice investigation into Netflix over the release of the movie Cuties. The post was shared over 142,000 times besides cropping up on Twitter.
The outlet reported that the person Kim Martin Morrow does not exist in the list of Netflix board members. Hastings is the co-CEO of Netflix while Ted Sarandos serves as the company's chief content officer, reported Heavy.
Netflix Becoming a Victim of Hoax Claims
This was similar to a previous hoax claiming that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was arrested after thousands of child pornography files were found in his possession.
The viral claim of Hastings being arrested started circulating on social media after Toronto Today published an article headlined, 'Netflix CEO gets BUSTED with 13,000 files of CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.' The article was published under the conspiracy files section of the website on 12 September.
The report claimed that FBI agents conducted a raid on Hastings' California-based house and recovered child pornography. 'Police also found "disturbing videos of Reed Hastings engaged in forced sexual intercourse with several unconscious women" on the seized devices, reported the outlet. The website removed the controversial piece of fake news claiming that they were being threatened of a legal action.
