Disney seems to be winning the popularity contest against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with a majority of people having positive views of the company.
The Mickey Mouse corporation and DeSantis have been entangled in a cultural and legal battle since the company spoke out against the governor's "Don't Say Gay" bill in 2022.
The feud between the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful and Disney erupted when the entertainment giant publicly condemned DeSantis' bill banning the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grades at Florida schools.
In what was seen as a retaliatory move, DeSantis tried to rescind the company's self-governing rights at Disney World near Orlando.
Disney had effectively been running as a self-governing entity for the past 50 years, complete with tax breaks and social privileges known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Disney, which lost control of its oversight board, is suing the governor for allegedly punishing it for its opposition to the legislation, arguing he violated Disney's First Amendment rights.
Despite DeSantis waging war on Disney however, the public appears to still have positive feelings toward the company.
In fact, nearly 50 percent of people surveyed in research for a Newsweek poll viewed Disney in a "favorable" or "very favorable" light.
In research conducted by Redfield and Wilton, 1,500 eligible U.S. voters were asked: "To what extent, if at all, do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of Disney?"
A total of 46 percent of those polled said they had positive feelings about the company, with 20 percent saying they had a "very favorable" view and 26 percent saying their view of Disney was "favorable."
That is in comparison to 13 percent who had an "unfavorable" view of the company.
The poll which was carried out on June 25, found 11 percent of people had a "very unfavorable" view of Disney while 24 percent were on the fence with neither a "favorable nor unfavorable" opinion.
A further six percent of the respondents said they did not know what view they held of Disney.
The poll of popular opinion is not the only battle Disney is winning against DeSantis, its social media has also had a boost over the past month.
Disney gained 44,742 new Twitter followers in the 30 days up to June 21, bringing its total to almost 10.3 million, according to the social media statistics website Social Blade.
It witnessed a further boost on Instagram, where Disney gained 278,550 followers in the same amount of time. Disney's official Instagram account now has 37,975,982 followers, making it the 199th most followed account on the social media platform.
