Netflix: Uh, sorry, we're not streaming a documentary about Farrakhan after all

This all started Monday when Minister Farrakhan himself tweeted, “My official @netflix announcement will be forthcoming later today. #LetsChangeTheWorld.”

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On Tuesday, Farrakhan tweeted out a short video in which he said, “My dear viewers and listeners, on August 1 you will be able to view the premiere on Netflix of the minister’s life journey through music.” Both tweets have since been deleted.

However, this wasn’t just a case of Farrakhan putting out something he imagined on his own. Last week the Independent published a list of everything coming to Netflix in August which included The Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan: My Life’s Journey Through Music under the heading of “licensed content.” So Netflix really did have this program on its schedule. But today, Netflix told Fox News it was all a misunderstanding:

“This film will not be released on Netflix. Due to an internal miscommunication, it appeared to be scheduled for release on Netflix, but it is not. We apologize for any confusion this has caused,” the Netflix spokesperson said.

Netflix issued the statement after Fox News asked about a tweet sent by Farrakhan to promote the film…

Farrakhan lost his verified status on Twitter earlier this year after he posted a video warning about “the Satanic Jew.”

Farrakhan’s hateful video included him asking, “Will you recognize Satan? I wonder, will you see the Satanic Jew and the Synagogue of Satan, which has many races in it because Satan has deceived the whole world?”…

Several House Democrats have met with Farrakhan — including Democratic National Committee Deputy Chair Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who attended a dinner with Farrakhan in 2013 hosted by Iran President Hassan Rouhani. Two other members of the Congressional Black Caucus — Reps. Andre Carson, D-Ind., and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., also attended the dinner.

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I’m a bit suspicious about Netflix’s explanation of what happened here. Clearly, someone at Netflix thought they were going to stream this starting today. Someone also told Farrakhan it was a done deal which is why he was promoting it. I wonder if that’s what killed it. Farrakhan’s teasing of the show on Twitter and the subsequent questions posed to Netflix by Fox News and others probably led someone higher up in the company to realize they were about to make a big mistake. Having belatedly realized what they’d done, they pulled the plug. That’s pure speculation on my part but it seems more believable than the official explanation.

To be clear, I don’t have a problem with Netflix running a documentary about Farrakhan but this one, which was produced by Farrakhan’s son, is probably pure propaganda aimed at growing his following. It’s sad that people are dumb enough (and racist enough) to fall for Farrakhan’s nonsense but I guess they are. Netflix is well within its rights to opt out of being part of that process.

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