It was April 23rd, at 3pm when the straw broke the proverbial camel's back. I had taken a break from work, and retreated from my desk to my sofa, I scrolled through my Instagram feed, counting the hours till work was over. Big plans were on the horizon for this Friday evening. Order in some takeout, have a beer, kick back and watch the season finale of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. I had been faithfully watching each and every week, and was really looking forward to seeing the conclusion. So, there I am scrolling, and like a punch in the face, BAM!! There was the one thing I didn’t want to see in my feed, there he was. The MCU’s new Captain America! Sam Wilson, in all his old and winged glory. Shield and all. In the new patriotically styled Wakandan vibranium wing suit. Looking like he just lept off the page of the comics. The biggest and most important reveals/moments in the entire series, and the first time I am experiencing this, is through my Instagram feed, thanks all in part to whoever runs social media over at comicbook.com, who apparently thought it was acceptable to post a screen capture right from the season finale. It goes without saying, this is not how I wanted to experience this moment. I wanted to experience this momentous reveal as the creators of the show envisioned for their audience and the fans. Now keep in mind, this is at 3pm, ONLY! 12 hours after the episode became available to viewers. Understandably, I was pretty upset, and it turns out I wasn’t the only one. After a quick walk through of the comment section, it was abundantly clear that I was not the only person who had this historic, and cultural touchstone spoiled for them. A lot of people were just as upset as I was. And felt cheated out of something that they had looked forward to, since the first time they saw Sam Wilson’s iteration of Captain America, in the pages of Marvel Comics. This wasn’t right. This was just....shameful. And at the expense of the fans, and for what? 

Now, you might want to think that this is an isolated incident, but the sad fact, it’s not. As it relates to comicbook.com, I’ve seen 6-10 instances over the last few months of them either using images in articles that would spoil a big plot point/moment/reveal, or in some cases, publishing spoilers right in their headlines. Seriously!? How is this ok? And I ask, as a fan, just like the rest of you. How would any of us avoid that? It’s impossible. None of us should have to digitally walk on eggshells to avoid spoilers of content, that we paid a premium price for. That is UNNACCEPTABLE! Comicbook.com, and sites like them, they know as well as we do that the content that they shamelessly spoil is not free!! In fact, it’s far from it, and guess what? It will only get more expensive as time goes by.

Sadly, comicbook.com is not the only offender. Numerous websites and feeds that report on pop culture and entertainment are just as guilty. It’s nothing more than a callous and shameful battlefield tactic in the war for eyeballs, and the casualty is us, the fans. And they don’t care. All they are worried about is how many ads they can serve, and how much revenue they can potentially generate. 

And don’t get me started on the YouTubers! Wow! Some channels will have a recap/review video of the latest and hottest series published within a few hours of whatever film, episode, series they are talking about, becoming available to the public. With some going as far using a still image from the most significant moment from whatever they are discussing as the video's thumbnail. Which is what is shown in everyone's YouTube feed. Again, no way to avoid it.

Something has to be done, if this pernicious trend is left unchecked, it will continue to dilute and pollute the fan experience, which could subsequently lead to many fans thinking twice, when it comes time again to sign up for, or renew their subscription to premium streaming platforms. For this reason, I am not petitioning the pop culture media to stop posting this kind of content, no, I am petitioning the studios to bring back strict and enforceable media embargos and black out dates. This has to end. The media reaps the benefits of your hard work and creativity. They drive ad revenue from undermining and devaluing your intellectual property, while at the same time poisoning the viewing experience of your audience and PAYING subscribers. It’s time for the studios to stand up and protect their interests, products, investment, and most importantly their loyal paying customers. 

Instituting an enforceable media embargo/black out  can ONLY benefit EVERYONE! The media that covers this genre of content, the YouTubers, the studios and companies producing the content, and most importantly the fans! If all media companies have to adhere to these embargos, no one media property has a strategic advantage over another. The competitive landscape is levelled. Immediacy no longer matters or is a metric in success, just quality.

So if you are a self described fan, stan, or superfan, and like me. You are tired of navigating the digital minefield of spoilers that plagues our social and news feeds. I call upon you to join me in putting an end to spoiler culture. Sign this petition. Tell the studios you want a media embargo. Tell them you don’t think it’s fair that you should have to pay for a subscription to see the series or the film you have waited so long for, only to have Youtubers, Comicbook.com, or any of the sites like it, spoil it before you have had a chance to watch it yourself. Tell them, enough is enough. No more spoilers.