Mickey Mouse to be replaced as official Disney mascot? No way
An Instagram post claims that Mickey Mouse is being removed as Disney’s official mascot. The post has been creating a buzz on social media since 10 February.
By Sunanda Naik Published on 27 Feb 2023 1:28 PM GMT
Hyderabad: An Instagram post claims that Mickey Mouse is being removed as Disney’s official mascot. The post has been creating a buzz on social media since 10 February.
The caption of the post reads, “In 1928, Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse. Nobody could have predicted the impact Mickey would have nearly a century later. He is still the Walt Disney Company’s dominant figure and the face of Disney. However, in 2024, Figment will take over as the official Disney mascot from Mickey Mouse.”
It further reads, “The decision to remove Mickey Mouse as Disney’s official mascot was motivated primarily by legal concerns. Mickey Mouse’s copyright protection is set to expire in January 2024. This means that Mickey Mouse will be in the public domain and anyone will be able to use him. Disney’s famous mouse will no longer have the same level of legal protection.”
Mickey Mouse is one of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time. Created in 1928 by Walt Disney and animator Ub Iwerks, Mickey Mouse has served as the long-time mascot of The Walt Disney Company. It’s been the cutest little mouse we know.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found the post is meant to be a joke.
We noticed that the source of the viral news as mentioned in the caption is “@mousetrapnews.”
Following the link, we reached the original post on the verified Instagram handle of Mouse Trap News.
The claim probably stems from an article published by the satire website called Mouse Trap News.
According to an article titled “BREAKING: Mickey Mouse Out as Official Disney Mascot” dated 10 February 2023, “Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in 1928. No one would have guessed the impact Mickey would have nearly 100 years later. He continues to be a dominant figure for the Walt Disney Company and the face of Disney. However, we have some breaking Disney news. In 2024, Figment will replace Mickey Mouse as the official Disney mascot.”
Source : Mouse Trap News
We read the website’s “about us” page that said, “Mouse Trap News is the world’s best satire site. We write fake stories about Disney Parks stuff. From Disney Park announcements to Disney Hotel and resort news to made-up Disney partnerships, you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real, or accurate, but it is fun.”
The post has been sparked by a satirical article. Hence, the viral claim is false.
