- Netflix has denied a claim it blocked a Twitter user for spoiling the plot of one of its upcoming shows.
- Netflix shared the trailer for "Messiah" on Tuesday, asking followers: "Who do you think he is?"
- A Twitter user called "Muعad" posted a thread explaining how it was clearly a rip of the Islamic tale of al-Massih ad-Dajjal, meaning "deceiver Messiah."
- Twitter users identifying themselves as Muslims aware of the story rolled their eyes at the streaming giant after Muعad posted screenshots alleging Netflix blocked him.
- Netflix told Insider: "We have not blocked this person."
- Muعad did not confirm the block was genuine when asked by Insider, but said: "It goes to show how they want to censor criticisms of their show by hiding replies to the comment section of their post."
- The Islamic story revolves around a false Messiah coming to earth and mobilizing support, before the real Messiah defeats him in battle. "Messiah" appears to be an explicit 21st century rendering.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Netflix denied blocking a Twitter user for exposing the plot of a new show, which was likely familiar to some of the 1.8 billion Muslims in the world anyway.
In a post to Twitter on Tuesday, Netflix shared the trailer for "Messiah" ahead of its 2020 launch, asking followers: "Who do you think he is?"
A Twitter user identifying himself as "Muعad" retweeted the trailer, saying he was "getting Dajjal vibes."
Muعad was referring to the Islamic tale of al-Massih ad-Dajjal in the Hadith (sayings of the prophet Muhammad) who is described as "the great deceiver."
Bruh wth https://t.co/G5FpwCX3a1 pic.twitter.com/kBaOHugltd
— Muعad. (@Sultaan_Mo1) December 3, 2019
Dajjal arrives on earth, collects vast swathes of followers, and claims to be Allah. The real messiah, ʿĪsa, comes down to earth and defeats him in battle.
The tweet got 25,000 retweets and 32,000 likes.
Teaser footage in the Netflix trailer appears to directly match the tale of Dajjal, but in a 21st century setting
A CIA agent trying to expose the "Messiah" as a fraud and a threat to the world order appears to have replaced ʿĪsa in the Netflix show.
Muعad tweeted "I bet he'll 'accidentally' lose an eye" in the show, referring to an event in the ancient story.
After tweeting his prediction, Muعad posted screenshots appearing to show that the official Netflix Twitter account and Messiah's official Twitter account had blocked him.
Bruh wth https://t.co/G5FpwCX3a1 pic.twitter.com/kBaOHugltd
— Muعad. (@Sultaan_Mo1) December 3, 2019
A spokeswoman for Netflix told Insider: "This story is untrue, we have not blocked this person."
Muعad told Insider: "It goes to show how they want to censor criticisms of their show by hiding replies to the comment section of their post," without giving an answer to a question on whether the Twitter block was genuine.
People identifying themselves as Muslims on Twitter wrote that naming the main character al-Massih (Messiah) was a dead giveaway, but Netflix remonstrated at length on Twitter that it wasn't his name.
IMDB list the title character's name as al-Massih, but Netflix do not in their press pack for "Messiah."
"Messiah" launches on Netflix on January 1, 2020.
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