'Resist and Unsubscribe' strike targets tech companies

The way marketing professor Scott Galloway puts it, the primary way to get President Donald J. Trump's attention is by influencing the market.

Don't like Trump's deployment of immigration authorities to Minneapolis or the killings of Americans observing the agents' actions? Find a way to change the economic calculus for Trump, Galloway says.

That's why Galloway, the popular podcast host and author, recently launched a month-long economic strike campaign called Resist and Unsubscribe. The initiative invites people to cancel tech subscriptions and services they may enjoy using for work, convenience, and entertainment.

He says the campaign has reached nearly a million people via its website and related content has been viewed more than 18 million times on social media.

The list of services Galloway says to consider forgoing includes Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Uber, and X. Galloway has identified these and other tech companies "as having outsized influence over the national economy and our president."

Amazon, for example, spent tens of millions of dollars making and promoting Melania, a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump, a move that skeptics of the deal and film have likened to a "bribe" and "propaganda." Amazon has said it made the movie because they believed customers would "love" it.

Mashable asked Galloway to share his reasoning for this strike, which services he personally canceled, and what he's doing with the time he's reclaiming from various tech products he used prior to the strike.

Mashable: Why is canceling subscriptions specifically important if someone wants to protest what you describe as "the Trump administration's assault on our nation's values"?

Galloway: The Trump administration doesn’t respond to outrage, it responds to economics. If you look at the times that the President walked back plans (like annexing Greenland or raising tariffs) it’s always been the result of the bond market or stock market falling. I'm recommending we focus on subscription cancellations because that's currently the easiest opportunity in the market. The Magnificent 7 account for roughly 35 percent of the S&P 500, and they’re all tech companies. Targeting Big Tech will have an outsized impact on the markets, which will influence the President.

Mashable: The tech-based subscriptions you encourage people to cancel have become central to how people entertain themselves, shop, and work. If someone is balking at the list and the prospect of giving up, say Apple Music or ChatGPT, or both, how do you frame the stakes for them?

Galloway: By all means, I'm not asking anyone to give up something that's central to their life or work. What I will say: if you head over to our website and read the list of companies we're targeting, you'll almost certainly find a subscription that you can go without for a short period of time. Like me, you'll also probably find out that you've been paying for two Spotify accounts and an Amazon Health account that you didn't know existed. At the very least, it’s a good excuse to audit what you’re paying for. 

Mashable: You've canceled Amazon Prime, Uber, Apple TV+, and Amazon One. Have you subscribed to other services to make up the difference, like a competing retailer delivery program or ride-hailing app? What have you learned from canceling these subscriptions? 

Galloway: Personally, I’m trying to reclaim my time as much as possible from technology and use it to do things that make me truly happy — connecting with friends, spending time with family, shopping locally and in-person — but there are definitely alternatives to the big tech services out there. For entertainment, you can stream films and documentaries via Kanopy with a library card. If you're switching from Uber, you can use Lyft — still corporate, but a much smaller player in the markets. Above all, shopping locally is a great alternative to using Amazon. 

Mashable: If someone cancels a service, such as LinkedIn or Apple Fitness+, but their membership is still good for a period of time, is it OK to continue using it? Is it the cancellation that really counts or the combination of terminating the subscription and ceasing to use the service?

Galloway: As a guy with economic security, I'm not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't cancel. I just want to make it easy to take action. Maybe you unsubscribe from a few things, pause others, realize you don't need half of what you're paying for. What I'm really trying to highlight is something we all forget: in a capitalist society, the most radical thing you can do is stop participating. Whether that's canceling the subscription or just stopping usage, the point is opting out.

Mashable: If someone cancels a subscription, should they communicate to the company that the cancellation is due to the company's support of the president's administration and policies?

Absolutely. Companies track cancellation reasons, and if enough customers cite political concerns, that data influences decision-making. Be explicit about why you're leaving — whether through the cancellation form, a follow-up email, or by sharing publicly on Instagram using our template.

Mashable: What's the most memorable or profound feedback you've received from someone who participated in this campaign?

It's been amazing seeing the outpouring of support for Resist and Unsubscribe. I've received thousands of emails in which people tell me what they've unsubscribed from. The collective response has been profound. Above all, it's given me hope. It's easy to lose that right now — but this has shown me that there's still a lot of good people out there who care about America and are willing to make personal sacrifices to create change.