Netflix experienced one of its greatest subscriber exodus after Co-founder voiced his support for VP Harris

In just hours, Netflix lost more than 6 million subscribers. This mass exodus was sparked by the news that Netflix's co-founder Reed Hastings has backed Kamala Harris and donated $7 million subscribers to the Kamala Harris campaign.

This is the largest amount given by Hastings to the campaigns of a political party till now. Netflix has blamed Trump and his fans for orchestrating this show, calling this the Reed Hastings Endorsement Effect.

The highest cancellation rate in Netflix history

In July, the 2.8% of cancellations was the highest rate since February for the streaming giant, which has the lowest cancellation rate in the industry. But this was about to change after Hastings posted on his social media voicing his support for VP Harris.

The tech billionaire told media outlets that he had donated the money to an anti-Trump political action party in support of Ms Harris. But the endorsement was met with significant lashback from Trump supporters, who vowed to boycott the subscription service.

Many dissidents speculated that Hastings could have made a direct donation to Mrs Harris. This incident has also started the #CancelNetflix movement on social media.

The spike in cancellation was further exacerbated by Netflix's decision to phase out its basic tier package - the cheapest advertising-free version of Netflix - with users encouraged to choose a new plan to keep on streaming.

Long time Democrat

Hastings, who co-founded Netflix in 1997 and stepped down as chief executive in 2023, has been very outspoken during this years' presidential election. He was also the first Democratic donor to urge Joe Biden to drop out of the race in July.

During that time, Hastings said

"Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous."

As a long-term Democratic donor, Hastings has openly criticised Trump, saying that the now-former president would destroy much of what is great about America.

But this isn't the first political statement to impact the streaming giant. In 2020, the company pledged to move 2% of its cash into a black-owned bank after the murder of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests.