The Algebra of Resistance
The Algebra of Resistance
What media matters? There’s influence, but the ability to fund that influence is a function of which content, media, and brands drive action. In sum, where do third parties (e.g. advertisers) spend capital to get high-quality traffic? For the past two and a half weeks, I’ve been trying, from a standing start, to shape and inspire a flow of visitors to resistandunsubscribe.com with the aim of converting them into unsubscribers.
After launching Resist and Unsubscribe, I needed to build awareness and turned to broadcast media. Since Feb. 1, I’ve hit every corner of the map, from Amanpour and Anderson Cooper to the Bulwark and MS Now. Our goal is to counter Trump’s assault on American values by zeroing in on what he really cares about: the markets. We’re asking people to join an economic strike targeting Big Tech and companies enabling ICE. If we succeed in turning even a small number of them into unsubscribers, that could translate into a sizable decline in subscription growth (mother’s milk to the tech companies) and market value. Only then will CEOs who’ve enabled the president push back … or at least get off their knees.
It’s understandable to feel powerless, and fair to point to the power of protests or identify the November midterm elections as the opportunity to reverse America’s descent into authoritarianism. And it’s easy to write off our campaign as quixotic: Boycotts don’t work. It’s fantasy to think CEOs will take on the president. People are too reliant on their iPhones and Amazon Prime. But the stats show our movement is working.
The Best Investment
During my 21-day, 30-outlet media tour, we’ve registered more than 1.5 million visits to our Resist and Unsubscribe website — without spending a penny on ads (the ads we tried to buy were deemed political and rejected by Meta and Google). Uploading our site analytics into ChatGPT and Claude, I asked what the cost would be to drive that amount of traffic to an e-commerce startup or political advocacy site. The range was $4.5 million to $8 million in paid ads. Our owned channels provide substantial economic firepower.
The unfortunate learning? Arguably, one of the best investments a young person can make is to build an owned media channel every day for 20 years. In the summer of 2007, I started following 100 people a day on Twitter to get 40 follows back. The investment in content, videos, podcasts, and personnel, to say nothing of the emotional toll — I fucking hate social media and the toxicity that is the comment section — has had a huge ROI.
Some Are Better Than Others
The data provides valuable insights about the media ecosystem and what inspires audiences to act. Traditional media, podcasts, and social media accounts are all providing fuel for the campaign, generating support we couldn’t achieve on our own, but some channels are more effective than others.
Out of the gates, the reaction was mostly positive. More than 3,300 new readers joined the No Mercy / No Malice subscriber list, and 500 people commented on my Jan. 30 post outlining our call to arms. My Instagram account (if you want to spread the word you’re a prisoner to the monopolistic platform) lit up as my more than 1.6 million followers responded to my videos. Still, the wider impact was muted.
NPR
Seeking to expand our footprint, we shifted focus to some of the heavyweights of traditional media, including CNN’s Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper, PBS’s Hari Sreenivasan, and MS Now’s Stephanie Ruhle. Their networks still have influence, a halo effect that drives online engagement and interest among other media outlets.
Although Congress has slashed $500 million in funding for public media, those outlets haven’t gone anywhere. Our data show a single story on NPR’s website led more than 28,000 unique visitors to our website, behind only Instagram, Facebook, and Google.
Assuming a conversion rate of 5% — fair, given that many e-commerce sites register rates of 2% to 4%, and that paid ads aren’t driving our more intentional visitors — that’s more than 1,400 people unsubscribing. If consumers ditch two platforms on average, that’s 2,800 unsubscribes, about $700,000 of lost sales, and a $7 million impact on market cap (relying on a standard industry multiple of 10x revenue).
Hand(ler) It to Chelsea
The major media outlets have given us a bump, but the buzz is proving hard to sustain. We knew we needed other voices, providing third-party credibility, to maintain the energy. We’ve received mentions from current and former elected representatives (AOC and Adam Kinzinger), but we live in a celebrity nation. Chelsea Handler, who contacted me after hearing about Resist and Unsubscribe, posted a video earlier this month focusing on the platforms she’s unsubscribed from. The video garnered more than 128,000 likes and inspired more than 6,000 visits, almost a fifth of the 34,000 users who’ve migrated from Instagram to our site. Applying the same math, that’s more than $100,000 of lost revenue and $1 million in market value. From just one post.
New Media
Influential voices, including Tim Miller from The Bulwark Podcast, are having more impact on their own platforms than when they appear on traditional platforms. We’ve drawn more than 18,000 people from Substack, no doubt fueled by Miller’s account, almost as many people as we’ve attracted from our own site, profgalloway.com. My conversation earlier this week with MS Now’s Nicolle Wallace on her podcast, The Best People, has almost half a million views on YouTube.
That’s aligned with the trends we’re seeing on Pivot. Data show that among the core demographic — adults between 25 and 54 — Pivot has a bigger audience than Fox News, CNN, or CNBC. While we trail Fox and CNN in overall audience size, those who tune in to Pivot have a much higher median income.
Little Steps, Big Impact
One point I’ve tried to drive home is that you have more power than you think. If you cancel a premium ChatGPT subscription, that’s $20 a month, or $240 a year in savings. Given that OpenAI is approaching a funding round that values the company at about $850 billion — more than 40 times its revenue of $20 billion — a withdrawal of $240 translates into a market cap reduction of about $10,000.
That’s just one tech company we’ve identified as having an outsize influence over the economy and our president, alongside Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Paramount, and Uber. While tech is the main focus, we’re also targeting companies that enable ICE, such as AT&T, Comcast, and Dell. With these companies, we aim to inflict maximum disruption with minimum impact on consumers.
We know that slowing subscriber growth stings. Exhibit A is T-Mobile. Earlier this month it reported adding 30,000 fewer mobile-phone subscribers than analysts expected in the fourth quarter. The company shed $12 billion in market value in after-hours trading. In the tech industry, even slight misses can have a significant impact. Microsoft lost more than $350 billion in value on January 29 after sales growth at its Azure cloud division slowed by a single percentage point from the prior quarter.
Sustained Pressure
Most economic strikes do not work. Those that do are the result of sustained efforts, not one cinematic action. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to relinquish her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, a defining moment in the American Civil Rights Movement. But the Black community, led by a young preacher named Martin Luther King Jr., coordinated a massive carpool system (300 private cars) to boycott public buses over 381 days, costing the bus system about $3,000 per day ($35,000 adjusted for inflation). Segregation on public buses ended in 1956 after a Supreme Court ruling declared it unconstitutional.
The struggle we face today is different, but we can find inspiration in our nation’s past. One thing is clear: Sustained economic pressure is critical. As Lucy Atkinson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told NPR, “boycotts work when they last.” She believes it will be tough for consumers to walk away from Amazon, which dominates the e-commerce market, but cutting the number of hours spent on its tech offerings, even for a short period, could reduce consumers’ reliance on the company, potentially extending the boycott.
As an entrepreneur who’s been blessed with economic security, I don’t believe it’s my right to tell people to stop working and take the risk of getting fired. That’s why I’m not proposing a labor strike. I also don’t want to be the arbiter who prescribes exactly what steps a person should take, which products they should drop, and for how long. Our hope is that we will ignite a conversation and provide people with a resistance roadmap, showing Americans they have a weapon hiding in plain sight — they have the capacity to make a difference.
What Did You Do in the War?
We estimate our campaign has directly cost Big Tech a quarter of a billion in market value so far. That’s a promising start, even if it’s not enough to force the CEOs who have Trump’s ear to do the right thing. I’ll continue to be a media whore as long as they take my calls. But others will need to pick up the baton if we’re going to elevate the debate to the boardroom and avoid the fate of boycotts that have largely been forgotten. Remember 2018’s #DeleteFacebook campaign? Check the archives.
The nihilistic view that these are uniquely dark times is not accurate. Our nation has endured a civil war, world wars, plagues, and a Depression. In each case, Americans were equal to the challenge, and our democracy emerged stronger. That’s the question: Are we equal to the task? If, like me, you owe a debt to America, having garnered more from the nation than you’ve invested, then when do you plan to make good, to recognize the sacrifice of previous generations whose shoulders you’re standing on? What will you say at the end, when your kids ask, “Dad, what did you do in the war against fascism?”
Life is so rich,
P.S. Resist and Unsubscribe continues. Join the movement.
32 Comments
Need more Scott in your life?
The Prof G Markets Pod now has a newsletter edition. Sign up here to receive it every Monday. What a thrill.
Like most people in media, you live in a social and economic bubble and generally have no clue what life is like for the average American in 2026.
How and why did Donald Trump win election TWICE?
If we all cancel Netflix will that feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked and uplift the downtrodden.
18+ million people work in retail making less than $20 per hour with minimal if any benefits.
If you are working your ass off, barely hanging on, your kid is sick and you do not have health insurance what is the value of democracy to you.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is your priority every day.
As a kid, my mother (industrial welder, American Tube Bending 1942 – 1945) told me that Hitler came to power because he gave the German people their dignity back,
and a subhuman race of people to blame for all their problems.
President Trump is the perfect reflection of the voters who believe, “The Young Bucks are taking the baby mama’s food stamps and buying beer and cigarettes.”
Cancel Netflix, NO! Get involved, contact your elected representatives, go to school board meetings.
You and all your podcasts and MSNOW buddies should stand up and challenge the craven politicians that have been using anger and resentment to demonize the “other” to gain and keep power for 40 years.
The decision To Feed Hungry Children or give tax cuts to Oil Companies is a political decision.
Cancelling Netflix does not get to the root of our Country’s problems.
Why dont you just run for Prez, man, if you think we’re so fuked up. Or stay in the UK with Ellen– the UK is worse than here. No free speech vs anyone, no tech industry, just a bunch of freaking Muslim prayers. Now the Prince moron Andy Perv, the William, and Kate divorce – it’s a freaking disaster. The bloom is off the rose forever. Not a happy place.
Trump makes mistakes, and he can act like a buffon sometimes, but the Democrats ruined this country with open borders, the DEI tsunami, the radical feminization of EVERY aspect of our culture, education, and workplaces, and the trans freak celebrations that wiped out every young white man’s goal of just meeting a nice girl and having kids, raising a family.
Your boys dont have to worrry they got your money. How about the millions of Gen Z boys?
The American dream is alive and well for women, any kind, any color- not for straight white or black men. You gotta play the LGBTQAI whatever flag to win here.
Let them put up AOC and the other idiots.
I’m pretty sure AT&T is blocking resistandunsubscribe.com because I can’t access it at all here unless I try through Tor, which works fine.
Long time fan of Scott, but this feels misguided. I’m really not sure what YOU have in common with US, Scott. You’re an UHNW Ex Pat throwing stones from across the pond. Like so many who have already made their riches, you seem to want to tear down the avenue you took to get there, the markets. We aren’t an oligarchy. Bezos and Musk weren’t awarded former Soviet era utilities, they created products we can’t get enough of. I actually really liked your book idea on men falling behind, problem was my mom and sister hated it. So now you are pivoting to something more palatable; inciting rage for the masses against our most admirable and market dominant institutions. You were standing up for something admirable in the suffering of young men but since that hurt ratings, you are piling on the current administration just like everyone else. Won’t risk offending anyone that way!
Scott, I’m a longtime admirer of your work and have read several of your books. Your communication style is clear, courageous, and always right on point.
Our Social Action Ministry has fully embraced this campaign, and we’ve shared it widely with our members, our church community, and with friends and family. I’ve personally unsubscribed from three tech subscriptions and am actively posting and encouraging others to do the same.
I truly believe that small, intentional actions—when taken collectively—can lead to meaningful change. Please know that you are not alone in this effort. Thank you for your leadership, your conviction, and your willingness to speak boldly. Stay strong and encouraged.
Because of Resist and Unsubscribe, I have cancelled my Amazon and Microsoft subscriptions. ‘t I don’t use a gmail account. I got rid of all tv subscriptions and haven’t even plugged my TV’s since I recently moved. Keep up the good work and will continue to follow. And yes, please run for office!!!
I’ve unsubscribed from Peacock, Audible, Disney +. Keep up the good work, Scott. You should run for office.
I appreciate the market cap logic of multiplier effects from subscription cancellations, but we all know that people struggle to figure out how to cancel subscriptions, and canceling a subscription is disruptive across many services (“now I can’t watch the next episode of Fallout”). I wonder if a parallel, focused effort to just get people to post what they chose NOT to buy on Amazon (specifically) might be more successful. And I wonder if there’s a way for this behavior – photos of products in Amazon Shopping carts with the unit count toggled down to zero – to trigger offers from other retailers to offer similar items (since so many of us habitually buy everything on Amazon)? Do you see a way to set that in motion, Scott?
Can you suggest alternatives, e.g., internet, cell phone services, book downloads?
Unsubscribed from Netflix, told Hilton no more honors and Apple plus is next.
Like Scott I am 61 years old and after hearing him talk about the Resist ‘n Unsub, I canceled 3 services and shared it with my friend groups… there are now 10 other old people joining in…
Stopped all orders from Amazon (that’s a bit of an ouch, but doing it anyway). I never pay for AI content. Thanks for being the inspiration.
Hey Scott. No Mercy / No Malice subscriber here. Since the preferred way to flag that you’ve joined the unsubscribe movement seems to be on Instagram, and I don’t want to join Instagram or any social media just to do that, I’m hoping that folks who post here will be added to your tally. I’ve unsubscribed to Paramount+, and have not bought or watched anything on Amazon since Jan 22 (and will hold out as long as I can). I can’t cancel Prime because I haven’t talked my spouse into it yet, but I notice she hasn’t ordered anything either… I will be cancelling Spotify as soon as I have enough time to write down the name and artists of a few good songs I’ve discovered there so I can buy them instead (see below).
There are nice, unexpected side effects to this: 1) Some physical stores have a nice vibe I had forgotten, with nice people really trying to help you. 2) I’d forgotten that you can still buy music and download it and own it rather than stream. It turns out there are several services that are not the biggies. And they have more great tunes than I will be able to listen to before I die.
Keep up the good work.
Now that SCOTUS has struck down (some of) the tariffs, I fear the market will respond exuberantly. That might give 47 more fuel. Oh well. Can’t win em all.
I wonder how many of SCOTUS are on the Epstein list or on the cartel payroll.
Did John Roberts buy his kids from Epstein?
What is John Roberts real net worth?
“We estimate our campaign has directly cost Big Tech a quarter of a billion in market value so far. That’s a promising start…”
That’s 0.0017% of an estimated combined market cap of $14.5 trillion of Big Tech – and that’s just the publicly companies consisting of Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta.
Suggestion: focus your efforts on getting people to vote to check / hamstring / oust Trump.
Your resistandunsubscribe initiative feels a little (a lot?) too self-promotional.
Q: “Dad, what did you do in the war against fascism?”
A: “I went on TV, drove up my subscriber base, and told people to LOOK AT ME while reducing Big Tech’s market value by 17 ten thousandths of a percent.”
You can do better Prof G…
I just cancelled my Washington Post Subscription and will be evaluating other apps, great job!
Thank you for doing this. Unsubscribed from Amazon/Prime, Audible (replaced with Libby from our public library). Unbundled Apple One and unsubscribed from a couple pieces including Apple TV. Picked up PBS Passport. Haven’t missed a thing. Used some savings to move from free to paid subscription to support Democracy Docket. Please keep this going; still sharing your stuff to get more folks on board.
I am a big believer that we, as consumers, can reclaim some agency by how and where we choose to spend our money. And it’s just good financial hygiene to periodically reassess if we are getting value from what we spend. So I applaud your effort here. But I feel there is a second part to this ask that is sorely missing: namely, to redirect some or all of your savings to small, locally-owned businesses, especially ones that are immigrant-owned or known to treat their employees and customers well. Here in Minnesota where I live, for example, the restaurant industry has been slammed by the surge in ICE activity. Many local restaurants are now facing an existential crisis, and if they go under the vitality of our community will suffer for years to come. So, yes, by all means stop giving your money to big national firms that bend the need to authoritarianism. But where you can, invest in your community by supporting small businesses.
Hey Scott, big fan, love your work, and I can’t stand DJT. Having said that, at what point do the Democrats look in the mirror and ask, “how did we get to this point?”; and, “What policies do we need to adjust to assure we don’t get here again?” Looking at the field of Democratic Presidential hopefuls, I am not confident the Dems are going to put up anyone who can defeat the MAGA faithful. Additionally, the strategy you are proposing above seems a lot like the “Resist” campaign from 2016-2020, which essentially did nothing. I really hope the Democrats magically find a moderate who can inspire cooperation and compromise. However, my hopes are fading as time goes by.
Pivot rocks. The GOAT of podcasts. And you and Tim Miller were great…
Support raging moderates and their calls to action. All we’re asking for is reason and justice, both which sometimes require a backbone. Is that too much? Unsubscribed from ChatGPT, AppleTV today.
I love this article!! Extremely interesting – and I’m praying the unsubscriber numbers keep going up!!
It too bad you promote Fascism to foment division. Unlike other countries, the US has a constitution and rule of law. Instead of promoting authoritarianism and dictatorial sentiments, it would be more realistic to promote changing our current laws to your positions. We have a process for that, we change laws all the time. Sadly, you know this and don’t promote using the mechanisms of change this country has fought for over 250 years. If you instead promoted rule of law, intelligent dissent and stopped promoting riots in Blue states, the country could come together and debate change like we used to be able to do. Your younger followers quote Fascism and can’t explain why their upset about it beyond your tag lines. We all win when we remember we’re all on the same team. America is our team! If you don’t like lower crime, lower costs, a strong military, and leadership that acts instead of blames… we have elections coming to change the order. I chose to focus on the overwhelming positives we have as Americans! Scott please go back and just try to fix Higher Ed your own industry is a HUGE MESS! It will also be fixed soon by voting with our wallets!
Unsubscribed from Amazon Prime. Your work and leadership matters. Keep going.
Please follow me on resistandunsubscribe.com and subscribe to my grindr feed!
Beyond the beyond. this is becoming a complete waste of time. Really, AOC and Adam Kinzinger!
Not even creditable.
I’ve heard you speaking about Resist and Unsubscribe on The Pivot – and went on to cancel subscriptions with Amazon Prime and ChatGPT – though I didn’t happen to use your site to manage the cancellation. Your campaign’s impact is greater than you’re able to measure. Bueno.
Basically Scott your entire movement of “Resist and Unsubscribe” is fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome … interesting … Obama, Bush 1 & 2, Clinton all did the same things during their term of office and you were happy happy happy!!! You’re a CON MAN Scott! From calling a “crisis of our young men” to a “resist 7 unsubscribe to shake down or take down Big Tech” you a snake oil salesman that is just hungry for the limelight. Loser.
Keep up the good work Scott. I dropped Youtube Premium as a result of this effort.
But some of us like ICE and approve of its mission so…
Yes!