Ah, the internet’s favorite pastime: mistaking a corporate social media intern’s panic attack for a high-level conspiracy to suppress the revolution. According to the digital town criers over at The Verge, Disney recently deleted a Threads post because the plebeians had the audacity to reply with—checks notes—anti-fascist quotes from Disney’s own intellectual property. The horror. The irony. The sheer, unadulterated “synergy” of it all.

The prevailing narrative here is that Disney “couldn’t handle” the poignant messaging of its own films or was trembling in its oversized yellow boots at the thought of “pissing off the powers that be.” It’s a lovely, cinematic thought, isn’t it? A cabal of executives in a boardroom, sweating over a quote from *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* while plotting how to appease the “current administration.” But let’s step out of the fan-fiction for a moment and look at the cold, hard, Mickey-shaped reality.

First, the assumption that Disney is “scared” of anti-fascist rhetoric is hilarious. Disney doesn’t hate anti-fascist messaging; Disney *sells* anti-fascist messaging for $15.99 a month on Disney+. They literally own the rights to the most famous cinematic rebellion in history. They have successfully commodified the concept of “fighting the man” so effectively that you can now buy a “Resist” t-shirt at a theme park for forty dollars. If there’s one thing Disney knows for a fact, it’s that rebellion is great for the bottom line.

The claim that they deleted the thread out of political cowardice ignores the far more likely, and far more boring, truth of corporate community management. When a brand posts a “Share your feelings!” prompt, they are looking for engagement metrics—the kind involving “I feel like Elsa today! ❄️”—not a sociopolitical firestorm that requires a 24-hour moderation team. Disney didn’t delete the post because they’re pro-authoritarian; they deleted it because the comment section became “not brand safe.” In the world of social media marketing, “unfettered political discourse” is just a synonym for “a headache I’m not paid enough to deal with before my lunch break.”

Then there’s the delicious irony of the “resourceful” users who thought they were “sticking it to the mouse” by quoting *Andor* or *Star Wars*. Congratulations, you’ve truly dismantled the machine by… reciting the lines that Disney writers wrote, which Disney actors performed, and which Disney’s legal department protects with the ferocity of a dragon. Using a Disney-owned quote to protest a Disney-deleted thread is like trying to bankrupt a casino by winning a free spin. You are still playing in their house, using their chips, and following their rules.

The Verge’s summary implies that Disney is somehow at odds with its own art. In reality, Disney is perfectly comfortable with its movies being anti-fascist, provided that “fascism” remains a comfortably abstract concept involving stormtroopers or gargoyles. The second that art is used to draw parallels to real-world politics, it stops being “magic” and starts being “liability.”

Let’s be real: Disney isn’t afraid of the “powers that be.” Disney *is* the powers that be. They are a multi-billion dollar conglomerate with enough lobbying power to rewrite copyright law. They didn’t delete the thread because they’re subservient to a government; they deleted it because they have zero interest in hosting a digital protest on a platform meant for “wholesome” brand engagement.

So, to the “resourceful” user who recorded the thread for “posterity”: thank you for your service. You’ve successfully archived the moment a corporate entity realized it accidentally invited the public to have an actual opinion. It’s not a blow to the empire; it’s just another day in the Magic Kingdom, where the only thing more carefully curated than the rides is the illusion that your “engagement” actually matters.