Yanis Darras 8:32 p.m., January 25, 2023
The controversies are linked in the United States.
After M&M's, it's Microsoft's turn to take the wrath of the American conservative right.
His fault: wanting to save energy and trying to reduce the carbon impact of his game console, the Xbox.
For Fox News, Microsoft is trying to "indoctrinate children" on the issue of climate change.
Wanting to save energy would it be "woke", this American movement which fights all forms of injustice and defends minorities?
This is according to the ultra-conservative right-wing American channel Fox News, which has been attacking the American giant Microsoft for several hours.
His wrong?
Having presented an update to its game console, the Xbox, which should reduce CO2 emissions related to the use of the latter.
To achieve this, the console will schedule video game updates at times when the carbon intensity of the electricity grid will be lowest.
A "power saving" mode will also be available with the update.
The latter will offer its owner to turn off his console directly, rather than leaving it on standby.
"This is completely crazy"
What “reduce CO2 emissions and potentially save money on your electricity bill”, underlines the press release from Microsoft.
But for the American TV channel, this announcement is the final straw.
“Xbox has announced that they are going woke because they are adding a new feature to the system settings,” explained Fox News presenter Ainsley Earhardt on January 24.
"From now on, if you have an Xbox and you update it, it will offer to put you in "energy saving" mode to save the environment, and save electricity", continues the journalist before d ' to be interrupted by his colleague, Jimmy Failla: "It's completely crazy", he says.
Because for the animators, the reason for this new update is obvious: "They are trying to indoctrinate your children so that they adhere to climate policies from an early age", explains the presenter, estimating at the same time that this new setting will only reduce emissions to an "infinitesimal level".
A controversy that sweeps away another
But this controversy is reminiscent of another: that of M&M's.
The American confectioner, whose characters take the shape of his candy, was the target of controversy from Fox News last week after the company presented a new purple character, to embody "acceptance and inclusion".
After attacks from the channel and the American conservative right, M&M's finally announced that it would stop using its characters in its future advertisements.
Not sure, however, that Microsoft is backing down on its update, the American company having indicated that it wants to become carbon neutral by 2030.