Fact Check: 'Communist China' Does NOT Own DreamWorks Animation

Fact Check

  • by: Dana Ford
Fact Check: 'Communist China' Does NOT Own DreamWorks Animation It's American

Does "Communist China" own DreamWorks Animation? No, that's not true: In 2016, DreamWorks was acquired by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast Corporation. Both NBCUniversal and Comcast are American companies.

The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on February 19, 2021. The post included a brief introductory message that read: "Hey Fact Checkers, debunk this please." The post continued:

FACT CHECK: COMMUNIST CHINA OWNS DREAMWORKS DREAMWORKS OWN CBS CNBC ABC TRUE Now you know how stories and inaugurations are made in Hollywood.

This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:

Facebook screenshot

(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Feb 23 16:18:14 2021 UTC)

The post did not cite any sources to substantiate its claims, which appear to be invented.

The Chinese government does not own DreamWorks, the animation studio behind hit feature films like "Shrek," "Trolls," and "The Boss Baby." In 2016, NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast Corporation, acquired DreamWorks in a deal worth approximately $3.8 billion. Both NBCUniversal and Comcast are American companies. Comcast is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while NBCUniversal is in New York City.

In a statement announcing the deal, NBCUniversal noted that DreamWorks owned "45% of Oriental DreamWorks, a world-class animation studio in China that produces family entertainment for both Chinese and global audiences." Oriental DreamWorks, now known as Pearl Studio, is headquartered in Shanghai and backed by CMC Capital Partners, a Chinese investment group.

The second part of the post's claims is also not true. DreamWorks does not own CBS, CNBC nor ABC. CBS belongs to ViacomCBS; CNBC is part of NBCUniversal; ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Company.

Likewise, the final part of the post's claims is false. The post tells readers "now you know how stories and inaugurations are made in Hollywood," a common conspiracy theory espoused by QAnon followers. That claim made the rounds before and we debunked it here. Joe Biden's inauguration as president was a live event, watched by millions of people around the world as it happened and by thousands on the scene at the U.S. Capitol.

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  Dana Ford

Dana Ford is an Atlanta-based reporter and editor. She previously worked as a senior editor at Atlanta Magazine Custom Media and as a writer/ editor for CNN Digital. Ford has more than a decade of news experience, including several years spent working in Latin America.

Read more about or contact Dana Ford

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