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'Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is a Coward' (theoutline.com) 96

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
The streaming service is happy to pretend it's a moral force bringing the power of documentary filmmaking to new markets. Until that becomes inconvenient. The Outline: This past January, at the request of the Saudi Arabian government, Netflix spiked an episode of its comedy news show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, owing to the subject matter, which was the Saudi Arabian government's murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Speaking at the New York Times's DealBook conference in New York earlier this month, Hastings affirmed the company's decision in no uncertain terms: "We're not in the news business," Hastings said, according to Variety. "We're not trying to do 'truth to power.' We're trying to entertain... We don't feel bad about [pulling the 'Patriot Act' episode in Saudi Arabia] at all." A few days ago, Netflix did the same thing again. A new (apparently good) documentary on the web streaming service about John Demanjajuk, a Ukrainian guard at Treblinka who was caught decades after the Holocaust while living a quiet suburban life in Ohio, drew the ire of Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki. "Central to [Morawiecki's] complaint were maps seen in the series that place Nazi concentration camps such as Auschwitz within the borders of modern-day Poland," again, according to Variety. "The U.S. streamer now says that it will amend the series by adding on-screen text, likely below the maps, to spell out the fact that the death camps sat in territory occupied by the Nazis."

The basis for why Saudi Arabia and Poland would whine to Netflix is straightforward enough. Saudi Arabia wants to bury, as quickly possible, any memory of the time that it botched the Khashoggi cover-up, and had to eat international crow for a few months before most of the world moved on. Poland, meanwhile, is presently led by right-wing politicians who believe that Poland gets an excessively bad rap for helping to carry out the Holocaust, so much so that these politicians attempted last year to pass a law that could impose prison time on people who accused the Polish nation of complicity in the Holocaust. If one really wanted to, you could make a by-the-numbers case for why Hastings has decided to cave to these foreign governments.
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'Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is a Coward' More

'Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is a Coward'

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  • Good (Score:5, Insightful)

    by 110010001000 ( 697113 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @12:02PM (#59435464) Homepage Journal

    At least he admits it and gives a rationale. The other media outlets just refuse and don't bother to justify anything. For example, why did ABC kill the Epstein story? Who knows? They never bothered to justify it, even to the reporter. That is cowardice. At least Hastings told you why.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Presence Eternal ( 56763 )

      Never explain, never apologize. The people who agree with you to begin with don't need persuading. The people who hate you won't forgive you and will just use your words as further ammo. The people who didn't care could just as easily become angry at one of your protestations, as I personally just did with Mr. Hastings.

      • If you don't explain you aren't being honest and you also open yourself to criticism. He should have just said "We want to make as much money as possible and need to make sure we make the people who run the countries we offer service in happy so they don't block us. We make changes based on their requirements." At least it is honest.

        • If you're explaining, you're losing.

          • Re:Good (Score:5, Funny)

            by BringsApples ( 3418089 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @12:19PM (#59435552)

            If you're explaining, you're losing.

            Good thing you explained that.

          • I'm pretty sure Reed Hastings and Netflix already won. On the other hand, ABC is failing miserably at life.

          • If you're explaining, you're losing.

            That's a bizarre philosophy.

            Now, repeating a justification and rationalizing it is maybe, but a straightforward explanation is just using reason.

            • The statement is a bit pithy, but the sentiment behind it is pure truth. Spend some time in sales if you want a more nuanced understanding of the idea. If you don't shut up or change topic once a person has said 'yes', more often than not they'll become suspicious and change that yes to a 'no'.

              That's for the easiest form of selling: in person with someone who wants to buy a product. Explaining a gaffe? Forget about it. That's an unfriendly mass audience in the future. Most of whom will hear quotes out of co

              • What does shutting up after you have sold the person something have to with "not explaining" your rationale when asked? If a sales drone doesn't provide justification for something then they won't be selling to many people for very long.

                • Thank you for proving my point.

                  • Please explain. It was a question.

                    • The point is that it isn't easy to reliably persuade an individual in person. I hope that's obvious, though I never know. People in sales will have experience with just how FAST you can lose someone. One word too many, or the wrong words, or their kid disrupts the flow at the wrong moment, and you're done.

                      Extrapolate this to an unfriendly group when talking about a complicated political mess. Then spread it out to different forms of media that don't allow for inflection. If you're even trying you're despera

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by sjames ( 1099 )

                      It makes sense to not explain if NOT asked. That is, when the prospect says yes.

                      But if you don't explain when you are asked, the prospect will simply assume the worst and you turn resistance into a hard NO. If you lie and get caught, it's a hard NO and they'll tell all their friends.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by nomadic ( 141991 )

              It's a comment on tactics, and it's absolutely right.

            • Now, repeating a justification and rationalizing it is maybe, but a straightforward explanation is just using reason.

              If you're using reason in a fight for public opinion, you're losing. I wish that wasn't so, but it is.

        • If you explain, your words will be taken and manipulated.
          Do you think the conspiracy theorists will be happy with a simple and true explanation?

          Long experience has taught sensible companies to keep their mouth shut and let the crazy go somewhere else.
          Start talking and they stick like flies.

    • For example, why did ABC kill the Epstein story?

      Stories about pedophilia doesn't go over well on Disney-owned channels -- unless it's animated.

  • Always funny to see Slashdot post headlines like these....there was something similar about Apple and China here recently.

    A company that caved to the Church of Scientology expecting other companies to stand up against entire nations is quite an eye roller.

    • The pot called the kettle black!
      So, the kettle is not black?
      Um, well...your mother's a whore!

      • So, the kettle is not black?

        No, wait, yes! [ssl-images-amazon.com]

      • The pot and the kettle being black is a matter of objective reality.

        Labeling a person a coward because he is unwilling to risk financial harm to the company where he is an officer in trade for advancing some social issue is fairly subjective. When evaluating subjective matters it is usually wise to consider the qualities of the people making the claim.

    • These are in general no win scenarios.
      Linus From Peanuts have stated they are three things not to bring up in polite conversation. Religion, Politics and the Great Pumpkin, this is more true then ever.

      People seem want to double down on everything, vs cutting their losses. This isn't courage it is just stupid. Most countries doesn't have Freedom of Speech as a core principal in there government. Meaning most of the countries has illegal speech.
      Now companies are out to make money, but they are also providin

      • >Linus From Peanuts have stated they are three things not to bring up in polite conversation. Religion, Politics and the Great Pumpkin, this is more true then ever.

        And if I were to venture a guess, that mentality is a large part of what has gone wrong with this country. If the populace doesn't talk politics amongst themselves, how can they possibly hope to have the politicians reflect their will?

        • There's a time and a place (Score:5, Interesting)

          by twocows ( 1216842 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @02:10PM (#59436126)
          The problem is politics has a tendency to be injected into unrelated discussions and used to derail. The people doing this also tend to be less interested in discourse and truth-seeking and more interested in validation for their own beliefs. It's not worth "discussing" politics with someone who isn't interested in having a back and forth; you may as well talk to a brick wall, at least it won't interrupt you to keep restating its beliefs.

          I personally prefer online political groups or forums for discussing politics. If the forum or subsection is about politics, then you at least know people are there to talk about politics. Also, the good ones have a wide variety of perspectives rather than just being an echo chamber. The format not being real time also means people have time to think out their responses and research things rather than just falling back on gut feelings and rhetoric. That's not to say online discussions are always or even usually good, it's just I find they tend to be more bearable than offline discussions of politics.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by tsqr ( 808554 )

          >Linus From Peanuts have stated they are three things not to bring up in polite conversation. Religion, Politics and the Great Pumpkin, this is more true then ever.

          And if I were to venture a guess, that mentality is a large part of what has gone wrong with this country. If the populace doesn't talk politics amongst themselves, how can they possibly hope to have the politicians reflect their will?

          I think you're guessing wrong. Not bringing up politics in "polite conversation" means not bringing up politics at Christmas dinner with the family, not "don't ever speak of it". You're there to celebrate the holiday and bask in familial love, not to have a heated argument over impeachment. That doesn't mean you can't discuss politics in the right setting. You've heard the old saying, "There's a time and place for everything," right? It's true.

          These days, though it's almost impossible to have a political di

        • If political discussion was about an honest exploration of people pain points and where government is helping or harming them. That is one thing. However it has mostly been turned to regurgitating their political talking point predefined by a political party.

          I work in healthcare... So government regulations both help and hinder my work. However I cannot talk about my work with my parents, because they will change it into something partisan political. This is not a conversation but a lecture on how what ev

          • Yeah, I was mostly commenting on how we got here. At this point I don't think it's something we could just "turn back on". And frankly - that scares me. I think it's going to be a very difficult thing to reclaim our democracy without it.

  • Article is total click-bait. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MSRedfox ( 1043112 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @12:05PM (#59435480)

    That's just total click-bait.
    1) Saudi Arabian government says an episode isn't allowed to be shown there; Netflix complies. This is nothing new or special to comply with rules for local areas.
    2) Polish officials complain that a documentary is spreading inflammatory falsehoods; Netflix adds some subtitles that explain the details better. Everyone is happy.

    Can we stop with junk articles that are just around to rile people up over things that are no big deal.

    • You missed the memo. That's all Slashdot is anymore.

    • But I shorted Netflix because I thought it would go down when Disney+ came out, and I gotta make my money back!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dabadab ( 126782 )

      Polish officials complain that a documentary is spreading inflammatory falsehoods

      No, it wasn't, actually the map was correct.
      The thing is that right-wing Polish politicians try to remove all blame regarding the holocaust from anyone Polish: "look, it was all done by the evil Germans, no, no Polish man ever took part in it, ever, that's a lie". If anything, that is an inflammatory falsehood.

      • I wouldn't say that no Poles took part in the Holocaust ... strictly speaking, even Jewish Poles did (see also Kapos and Jewish Ghetto Police). But collaboration was highly discouraged by the government-in-exile and its system of courts ... it was certainly not an official policy.
    • MSRedfox [slashdot.org]: “Can we stop with junk articles that are just around to rile people up over things that are no big deal.”

      Can you stop it with the bullshit!
  • Five rapists are being awards and repeatedly celebrated as guests of honor because of Netflix-produced propaganda:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

    • Whaaaaaatttt? Is that the name of some idea Trump came up with in the 90s for an awards show to compete with the People's Choice Awards?

      "Tune in tonight at 8, 7 Central for the 1997 annual Five Rapist Awards, guest hosted by that dynamic duo you love so well, Epstein and Spacey!"

  • "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I'm worth four billion dollars." - Reed Hastings

  • Has nothing to do with cowardice (Score:3)

    by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @12:19PM (#59435558)
    We have a ruling class. We just don't like to acknowledge the fact.

  • Apples to Oranges (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Nidi62 ( 1525137 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @12:20PM (#59435562)

    i would argue that the 2 particular instances in the summary is an unfair comparison. Blocking the airing of a show because it covers the Saudi's murder and dismemberment of a journalist is reprehensible. Putting a note on a screen stating that concentration camps were run by Nazis in occupied areas of Poland is reasonable. A lot of Poles died both in the concentration camps and in the resistance movements and they have a right to reiterate that.

    • Slashdot editors never miss a chance to take a swing at "right wingers".
      Now people are trying to paint Polish WWII victims as nazis or nazi sympathizers.. usually the same people that support Soros; now there's irony, as he himself admitted helping them, under pressure, to confiscate property from fellow jews

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by U0K ( 6195040 )
        They are not even "right wingers" by US standards.
        Just look at their social policies with social safety nets. They oppose cuts to the social welfare system. They support state funded universal health care. And they plan on spending lots of money on supporting the disabled.

        The only thing that makes them look 'right' is their nationalist stance, while their economic policies look a lot lot more like a social market economy that you can find in the rest of Europe.
        That makes them nationalist and socialist.

    • Putting a note on a screen stating that concentration camps were run by Nazis in occupied areas of Poland is reasonable.

      I haven't seen the show; but, honestly, if the on-screen map showing the location of WWII-era concentration camps is only showing current political boundaries, then that's just lazy storytelling. Any maps shown should reflect the situation on the ground during that period - otherwise they're fairly useless for narrative purposes.

      It'd be like talking about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand while displaying a map of modern Europe.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Higaran ( 835598 )
      Poland is having issues with a lot of people calling the concentration camps, "polish death camps" so they are very sensitive to this issue. There is blame that the media coming from Germany, whitewashing WWII, saying that the war and all the bad stuff was only the NAZI's and not the rest of the population. I'm not saying there wen't good people in that country, but it's like a guard at one of the camps saying he didn't kill anyone when he was leading them into the ovens, just because he didn't turn the

    • Putting a note on a screen stating that concentration camps were run by Nazis in occupied areas of Poland is reasonable.

      I think it's reasonable on Netflix's side, but I'm not so sure how reasonable it is on Polands side.

      Is this really a problem? Is there anyone who isn't aware that Poland was the first country annexed by the Nazis? Is there anyone who blames the modern government of Poland for Nazi and Soviet atrocities?

      I know the current Polish government is really touchy about this, but it seems to me to be an overreaction to a problem that doesn't really exist in the first place.

      Yaz

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

        I think it's reasonable on Netflix's side, but I'm not so sure how reasonable it is on Polands side.

        Is this really a problem? Is there anyone who isn't aware that Poland was the first country annexed by the Nazis? Is there anyone who blames the modern government of Poland for Nazi and Soviet atrocities?

        I know the current Polish government is really touchy about this, but it seems to me to be an overreaction to a problem that doesn't really exist in the first place.

        Yaz

        I believe Austria and Czechoslovakia were annexed into the Third Reich before Poland was. And yes, the Soviets were responsible for a lot of Polish deaths (famous example of the Red Army sitting on the outskirts of Warsaw waiting for the Germans to put down the uprising-most of the Polish resistance was nationalist, not Communist). But considering the fact that there are plenty of people (including here on Slashdot) that seem to think Nazi=Communist, I would say modern education seems to be lacking in the

    • Exactly ...

      (1) The Polish government never capitulated or surrendered, but operated as a government-in-exile from London

      (2) The government ran secret courts to try Nazi collaborators in absentia ... the penalty for collaboration with the Nazis was death.

      The legitimate successor of the Polish government never cooperated with the Nazis, nor did it encourage collaboration. By contrast, France did surrender and there was much more collaboration on an official level.

  • Appears to be decision of an individual who's anxious about future viability of their business. Spiking content under geopolitical pressure in hopes of better foreign sentiment is not an effective long term growth strategy. Sure this doesn't help with content creators' trust in Netflix.

  • US companies bowing down to foreign interests. /s if needed

    On a slightly more serious note, it's one more company I can avoid doing business with

  • Big problems (Score:3)

    by PingSpike ( 947548 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @01:10PM (#59435826)

    If there's one CEO I expect to fight oppressive governments and spread the truth the whole world over, its the CEO of Netflix.

  • Complying with local governments is cowardice?? (Score:3)

    by l2718 ( 514756 ) on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @02:25PM (#59436200)

    Netflix can unilaterally pull out of Saudi Arabia. But if it wants to do business there it must subject itself to the local government. In an authoritarian kingdom this mean subjective itself to government whim.

    Is Netflix really supposed to become the Voice of America, trying to broadcast US notions of freedom and democracy into unwilling places, or is it simply supposed to be in the business of entertaining paying customers to the extent possible in each locality?

  • Either you uphold American values, everywhere, or you don’t get to operate or base in America, or use any American financial systems. Period.

  • Just trying to understand how this story is remotely relevant to Slashdot ?

  • Media whores will sell themselves for money and the US, the worlds greatest democracy and defenders of human rights everywhere, turned a blind eye to the assassination of a journalist. Fuck Netflix and fuck Trumps America.

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