Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has raised more than $200 million since she emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee in late July.
The campaign, which announced its latest fundraising total on Sunday, said the bulk of the donations came from first-time contributors and were made after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris.
Now some people online are calling for a Netflix boycott after several social media posts claimed the company donated $7 million to the Harris campaign.
“Netflix just donated 7 million dollars to Kamala Harris. I just canceled my subscription!” an X post with over 350,000 views said.
Multiple VERIFY readers, including DeeDee, Sara and Susan, asked if Netflix really donated $7 million to the Harris campaign.
THE QUESTION
Did Netflix donate $7 million to the Kamala Harris presidential campaign?
THE SOURCES
- Reed Hastings, co-founder and executive chairman of Netflix
- A Netflix spokesperson
- An article on The Information, a technology and business news website
- Republican Accountability PAC
- Federal Election Commission
- Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying
THE ANSWER
No, Netflix did not donate $7 million to the Kamala Harris presidential campaign. The company’s co-founder and board chairman Reed Hastings made a personal donation of that amount.
WHAT WE FOUND
Netflix did not donate $7 million to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign like viral social media posts claim. Instead, Netflix co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings made a personal donation of $7 million to a super PAC supporting Harris’ run for president.
“This is a personal donation by Reed, and totally unrelated to Netflix,” a Netflix spokesperson told VERIFY.
On July 23, Hastings told technology and business news website The Information that he donated $7 million to the Republican Accountability PAC. The Republican Accountability PAC is a super political action committee (PAC) that just launched a swing state ad and billboard campaign showcasing former Trump voters who will support Harris in the upcoming election.
Hastings, who donated to the super PAC on the recommendation of billionaire venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, said the donation was the biggest donation ever in support of a single candidate, according to The Information.
“Congrats to Kamala Harris -- now it is time to win,” Hastings wrote in a July 23 X post.
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), federal campaign donations are subject to limits, and no one person can donate millions of dollars directly to a candidate’s campaign committee. For instance, for the 2024 election, individual contributions to candidates are limited to $3,300 per election.
However, super PACs, like the Republican Accountability PAC, can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions and other PACs to finance independent expenditures and other independent political activity.
“Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates,” said Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying.
“Super PACs are prohibited from donating money directly to candidates, and their spending must not be coordinated with that of the candidates they benefit,” Open Secrets added.
Super PACs are required to report their donors to the FEC on a monthly or semiannual basis in off-years, and monthly in the year of an election, according to Open Secrets. Hasting’s $7 million donation to the Republican Accountability PAC in July does not yet appear on the FEC’s website because the most recent filing only shows donations through June 30.
VERIFY reached out to the Republican Accountability PAC for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story is also available in Spanish / Lee este artículo también en español: No, Netflix no donó 7 millones de dólares a la campaña de Kamala Harris
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