Fox News personality Ainsley Earhardt was mocked online after she complained Xbox—a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft—is "going woke because of climate change" after the company announced a new default setting that regulates gaming consoles' power usage to protect the environment.
A press release from Microsoft’s Xbox Wire said Xbox is working "to reduce our environmental impact to help us reach Microsoft’s goal of being a carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste company by 2030 by rethinking how we design, build, distribute, and use our products."
The press release noted consoles will become "carbon aware" via a software update and energy saving features are being automatically applied.
But this development appeared to annoy Earhardt, who claimed Xbox is "going after the kids," suggesting efforts to protect the environment and address climate change are nothing more than a "woke" agenda.
You can hear what Earhardt said in the video below.
\u201cFox News is MAD that "woke" Xbox is changing its power saving mode\n\nEarhardt: "Xbox has also announced that they're going woke because of climate change"\n\nFailla: "They're trying to recruit your kids into climate politics at an earlier age"\n\nE: "They're going after the kids"\u201d— Lis Power (@Lis Power) 1674574002
Earhardt said:
"So Xbox announced they're going woke too because of climate change, that they're adding a new feature to their default setting, so if you own an Xbox, you can upload this new program and it will turn off after so long to save the environment, the power."
"Also, they're saying the energy-saving shutdown feature is going to have a slower boot time."
Earhardt proceeded to quote a tweet from Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who said "they're gunning for your Xbox" and laughed, much to the delight of her guest, fellow Fox News host Jimmy Failla.
Failla said it's "crazy" that "back when we were kids, you were considered a rebel if you had a leather jacket and a pack of cigarettes" but insisted the new feature is not "actually going to offset emissions."
He said:
"The level of reduction is infinitesimal but they're trying to recruit your kids into climate politics at an earlier age. Make them climate conscious now." ...
"What's the point of video games? For kids to be kids. Now you sit down, pick up a controller and they're like, 'By the way, the world's on fire.'"
Earhardt agreed with Failla's assessment, saying the announcement is a sign that Xbox is now "going after the kids."
Many have mocked her and Failla's claims since the absurd segment aired.
\u201cHelping save money on your electric bill by not needlessly wasting power when the console isn't in use, classic woke-ism\u201d— Dylan Haines (@Dylan Haines) 1674580981
\u201cSaving you money is apparently woke\u201d— Evan Anthony (@Evan Anthony) 1674580770
\u201cWe've got to get the word out to gamers across the country that the new woke Xbox (checks)... might save them a few bucks on their power bill\u201d— Adam Weinstein (@Adam Weinstein) 1674578109
\u201cIs climate change considered "woke" now too?\n\nI've lost track.\u201d— Rick Glass (@Rick Glass) 1674578177
\u201cEverything they do and say whittles their support just a tad more. They don't like the "middle third" any better than they like the libtards, even though they depend on the middle third's support to hold power. The problem is that they might kill us all before they are defeated.\u201d— Dan Mitchell (@Dan Mitchell) 1674578241
\u201cRunning up the electric bill with excessive power usage to own the libs?\u201d— Vont\u00e9 is on Vocation! (@Vont\u00e9 is on Vocation!) 1674578375
\u201cBest way to conserve energy is to shut off the disinformation channel known as @FoxNews\u201d— Ethan Sacks (@Ethan Sacks) 1674579060
\u201cConservatism has so thoroughly abandoned even the tiniest desire to improve people's lives that right wingers now instinctively regard ANY attempt to ever make anything better, no matter how benign it is, as either woke virtue signaling or a diabolical, conspiratorial plot.\u201d— Velodus\u2728 (@Velodus\u2728) 1674579602
\u201cLike a kid is going to read the fine print on the manual or even care about how much power the machine is drawing while not in use.\u201d— Lori (@Lori) 1674580673
Fox News' made-up controversy about "woke" Xbox product updates is only the latest in a series of oddball claims the network has made this month pertaining to a "woke" agenda meant to indoctrinate young children.
Earlier this month, the hosts of the Fox News program Outnumbered were widely mocked online for complaining the new package of all-female M&M's candy will help China take over "the entire world," somehow linking candy to a very complicated foreign policy relationship and its implications.
The network also recently pushed falsehoods about a floated "ban" on gas stoves by the commissioner for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) due to the toxic chemicals released that can contribute to childhood asthma.
Although CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. shut down claims his agency is on the cusp of banning gas stoves—he is considering new regulations on gas stoves to "reduce related indoor air quality hazards"—it hasn't stopped Republicans from conjuring images of federal agents storming into people's homes and taking gas stoves by force.
