Media prank

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A media prank is a type of media event, perpetrated by staged speeches, activities, or press releases, designed to trick legitimate journalists into publishing erroneous or misleading articles. The term may also refer to such stories if planted by fake journalists, as well as the false story thereby published. A media prank is a form of culture jamming generally done as performance art or a practical joke for purposes of a humorous critique of mass media.

Contents

Notable instances

In May 1927, Jean-Paul Sartre, who was known as one of the fiercest pranksters at the École Normale Superieure [1] [2] organized with his comrades Nizan, Larroutis, Baillou and Herland, [3] a media prank following Charles Lindbergh's successful New York-Paris flight. Sartre & Co. called newspapers telling them that Lindbergh would be awarded an honorary degree by the École. Many newspapers including Le Petit Parisien announced the event on May 25 and thousands showed up, unaware that they were witnessing a stunt with a look-alike. [4] [5] [6] A scandal followed resulting in the resignation of the École director Gustave Lanson. [5] [7]

One well-known 1967 prank, orchestrated by Abbie Hoffman and Allen Ginsberg and chronicled in Norman Mailer's Armies of the Night , involved a mock gathering protesting the Vietnam War (that many media took as a serious but misguided effort) intended to levitate the Pentagon. [8] Joey Skaggs is one of the most prolific creators of media pranks in the United States, often using actors to stage outlandish public events that are then covered by news media as real stories. [9] Among his many pranks, he convinced United Press International to report that cockroach hormones had been identified as a cure for arthritis, acne, and radiation poisoning, and tricked WABC-TV in New York City to create a news segment (which was nominated for and won an Emmy Award despite being untrue) [10] about a supposed "cathouse for dogs". [9] In a 1987 interview, Skaggs said, "I started doing hoaxes to point out the inadequacies and dangers of an irresponsible press". [9]

During the late 1980s members of activist group Grevillea hoaxed Australian journalists by creating a fake organization called LILAC WA (Ladies In Line Against Communist Western Australia). The name was slightly altered from that of an existing far-right association. They held a series of events in Perth, including a Walk For Wealth, to raise money for billionaire and owner of the Channel 9 television station, 9 News Perth, Alan Bond, whose businesses were ailing. Their actions were covered by media outlets around the country with some journalists reportedly being fooled by the deception and others playing along with the prank. [11]

The band Negativland is (according to Time Magazine) "better known for media pranks than records". The band, as an excuse for cancelling an upcoming tour, issued a press release claiming that a teenager who had committed a multiple axe murder did so after arguing with his parents over the meaning of its song, "Christianity Is Stupid". The story was picked up and reprinted as true by mass media, and the band wrote later songs about having perpetrated the hoax. [12] In 2003 the band issued a series of press releases accusing Seattle, Washington, radio station KJR-FM of playing 1980s music despite claiming it only played "the best of the 60s and 70s" then, after the radio station changed its format, issued more press releases announcing that it had all been a prank. [13]

Beginning in 1999 with the fake campaign-oriented website gwbush.com, the Yes Men have impersonated famous celebrities, politicians, and business officials at appearances, interviews, websites, and other media to make political points. [14]

In December 2009, an Argentina news station fell victim to a media prank. Acting on a Facebook link, an investigative reporter believed that the latest trend in underage drinking was tied to a new cocktail mix called Grog XD. Unbeknown to the reporter, the recipe was from the video game The Secret of Monkey Island . [15] [16]

Portofess

Multiple media outlets were fooled by this 1992 Joey Skaggs prank Skaggs-porto-portofess2-400.jpg
Multiple media outlets were fooled by this 1992 Joey Skaggs prank

Joey Skaggs, posing as the fictional Father Anthony Joseph, pedaled a confessional booth mounted on a tricycle to the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York City. [17] Dubbed "Portofess", the portable confessional offering "religion on the move for people on the go", fooled dozens of journalists before the hoax was exposed. [18]

Voltswagen joke

In March 2021, several major media outlets reported that Volkswagen was rebranding itself as "Voltswagen" to focus on the development of electric vehicles. Despite the company's release of an official statement declaring the name change was an early April Fools' joke, CNN, NBC News, and The Washington Post fell for the gag. [19] [20]

Ligma–Johnson hoax

On October 28, 2022, a pair of amateur improvisational actors pranked multiple major media outlets with a spontaneous and intentionally transparent hoax that was revealed the same day. As reporters congregated outside Twitter headquarters on the day Elon Musk took control of the company, the instigator, playing the fictional role of Rahul Ligma, "thought it would be really funny" if he and a friend "walked out with a [cardboard] box and they fell for it." [21] After interviewing the two pranksters, neither of whom had ever worked for Twitter, journalists at CNBC, Bloomberg, ABC News, and other networks reported that mass layoffs were underway. [22] On October 31, 2022, CNBC's Deidre Bosa apologized and told The Daily Beast , "They got me" and "I didn't do enough to confirm who they were". [23]

The India Times called the hoax "perfectly-timed" and "one of the greatest pranks on the internet". [24] Blake Shuster wrote in USA Today that the journalists involved were "duped by real life trolls" and "all it would’ve taken was 30 seconds to stop and actually do their jobs to avoid the whole news-cycle". [25] One of the actors explained that the stunt was spontaneous, and that "I was hoping at least one guy there would get it and they would turn off the cameras". [21]

The following month, Musk called their October media stunt "one of the best trolls ever" and continued the joke by apologizing for "firing these geniuses", facetiously saying it was "truly one of [my] biggest mistakes" and offered them their jobs back. [24] The Hindi news channel Aaj Tak reported the comic duo's fictional rehiring as an actual news story, [26] [27] as did VOI of Indonesia [28] and The Hill of the U.S. [29]

EcoWarrior Barbie hoax

In August 2023, actor and environment activist Darryl Hannah, in concert with the Yes Men and the Barbie Liberation Organization, produced a press release and a promotional video purportedly by Mattel, promising that the company's Barbie dolls would manufactured without plastic products by 2030. [30] People magazine and the Dow Jones Newswire ran stories, later retracted, about "EcoWarrior Barbie" with comments from impersonators of Mattel representatives. [30] [31] Looper said one of the fake commercials released to the press, featuring the hoax doll's "Pussy Riot Accessory Pack" that contained Molotov cocktails and zip-tie handcuffs, "should have raised editorial eyebrows". [32]

Deep fakes and AI-driven stunts

In more recent years, Artificial Intelligence tools have given people the ability to perform many "Deep Fakes" or media stunts. The ability to use facial-recognition software in efforts to replicate an individual's identity is becoming more popular. As a result, the United States Congress and United Kingdom have attempted to create new repercussions for those engaging in these creations. The United Kingdom's 2023 Online Safety Act, expanded upon the Sexual Offenses Act 2003 making it illegal to share any explicit images of an individual without their consent. It also made it illegal to threaten sharing images of an individual. [33]

Facebook

The United States has experienced a variety of different Deep Fakes. In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, was quoted in a video stating, "Imagine this for a second: One man, with total control of billions of people’s stolen data, all their secrets, their lives, their futures” [34] . This caused commotion for Facebook users, making them question Zuckerberg's loyalty and respect for their privacy.

Taylor Swift's explicit images

In January of 2024, music artist Taylor Swift had AI-generated, pornographic photographs leaked that went viral on Twitter. These images were spread in efforts to hurt Swift's reputation and had her fans in shock. Members of the United States Congress described themselves as feeling "appalled" [35] by the images, and began to investigate ways in which they could hold the creators accountable.

The 2024 presidential election

The use of Deep Fakes has shifted into audial forms in recent years. This year, during the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden's voice was replicated by Steve Kramer, a political consultant, and used to prank call voters of the New Hampshire state. His voice emphasized that these voters should not go to the polls and vote, causing controversy amongst Democrats as they once believed Biden was in favor of voting for Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, and in support of the election [36] . Upon reviewal, Kramer's was fined six million dollars and charged 26 times for their actions. As a result, journalists began publishing concerns regarding the Deep Fake technology that could have an impact on the election results.

Critique

Although media pranks may serve as legitimate criticism of the press, and artistic creations in their own right, they are often criticized not only for the disruption they cause but as simple publicity stunts that take advantage of the very failures of mass media that they ostensibly oppose. [9] Skaggs has criticized the Flash mob movement, as being frivolous and lacking the countercultural element of more serious protest art. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Skaggs</span> American multimedia artist (born 1945)

Joey Skaggs is an American multi-media artist, activist, satirist, educator and prankster. Skaggs is one of the originators of the phenomenon known as culture jamming. In a career spanning six decades, he has produced paintings, sculptures, guerrilla theater, performance art, socially revealing hoaxes, media pranks, and films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elon Musk</span> South African-born businessman (born 1971)

Elon Reeve Musk is a businessman known for his key roles in the space company SpaceX and the automotive company Tesla, Inc. His other involvements include ownership of X Corp., the company that operates the social media platform X, and his role in the founding of the Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink, and OpenAI. In November 2024, United States president-elect Donald Trump appointed Musk as the co-chair of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the second Trump administration. Musk is the wealthiest individual in the world; as of November 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$304 billion.

A gag name is a pseudonym intended to be humorous through its similarity to both a real name and a term or phrase that is funny, strange, or vulgar. The source of humor stems from the double meaning behind the phrase, although use of the name without prior knowledge of the joke could also be funny. Examples of the use of gag names occur in works of fiction in which there is a roll call, a listing of names, or a prank call.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Practical joke</span> Mischievous trick played on someone

A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort. The perpetrator of a practical joke is called a "practical joker" or "prankster". Other terms for practical jokes include gag, rib, jape, or shenanigan. Some countries in western nations make it tradition to carry out pranks on April Fools' Day and Mischief Night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April Fools' Day</span> Annual celebration on 1 April

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved with these pranks, which may be revealed as such the following day. The custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one's neighbour has been relatively common in the world historically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dogecoin</span> Cryptocurrency

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a joke, making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the time. It is considered both the first "meme coin", and more specifically the first "dog coin". Despite its satirical nature, some consider it a legitimate investment prospect. Dogecoin features the face of Kabosu from the "doge" meme as its logo and namesake. It was introduced on December 6, 2013, and quickly developed its own online community, reaching a peak market capitalization of over US$85 billion on May 5, 2021. As of 2021, it is the sleeve sponsor of Watford Football Club.

<i>The Babylon Bee</i> Satirical news website

The Babylon Bee is a conservative Christian news satire website that publishes satirical articles on topics including religion, politics, current events, and public figures. It has been referred to as a Christian or conservative version of The Onion.

X, formerly Twitter, may suspend accounts, temporarily or permanently, from their social networking service. Suspensions of high-profile accounts often attract media attention, and X's use of suspensions has been controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deepfake</span> Realistic artificially generated media

Deepfakes are images, videos, or audio which are edited or generated using artificial intelligence tools, and which may depict real or non-existent people. They are a type of synthetic media and modern form of a Media prank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pablo Reyes Jr.</span>

Pablo Reyes Jr. is a Mexican writer, prankster and contributor to fake news websites. He is the founder of Huzlers, a fictional news website that attracts about 387,000 unique visitors per month, according to Comscore. That makes it the No. 1 American site tracked by Comscore in a new genre that Huzler's founder calls "fauxtire" — not quite The Onion, but not quite PBS.

James Linton is a social engineer and email prankster known for duping high-profile celebrities and politicians. For five months in 2016 through to 2017, the "lazy anarchist" known by the Twitter alias SINON_REBORN created over 150 look-alike email accounts and emailed high-profile individuals in the political, financial, and entertainment industries from his iPhone 7.

Elon Musk is the CEO or owner of multiple companies including Tesla, SpaceX, and X Corp, and has expressed many views on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from politics to science.

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov and Aleksei Vladimirovich Stolyarov, jointly known as Vovan and Lexus, are Russian comedians noted for their prank telephone calls to prominent individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sriram Krishnan</span> Indian-American investor

Sriram Krishnan is an Indian-American internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and author. He is a general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Nolan Higdon is a critical media literacy scholar and media personality. He is also an author and university lecturer of history, education, and media studies. Higdon is a lecturer at University of California, Santa Cruz. Higdon is considered an expert in critical media literacy, podcasting, digital culture, higher education, journalism, fake news, and news media history. Higdon is frequently featured as an expert voice in documentaries and news outlets such as ABC, CBS, CNBC, NewsNation, NBC, New York Times, PBS, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jack Sweeney is an American programmer and entrepreneur. In 2022, he became known for creating Twitter bots to track the private jets of Russian oligarchs and other prominent individuals, including Elon Musk through the ElonJet account, and Taylor Swift.

Rahul Ligma is a fictional fired Twitter employee, a character played by one of a pair of amateur improvisational actors that pranked multiple major media outlets on October 28, 2022. Ligma, the fictional character's surname, is a reference to the Ligma joke. The spontaneous and intentionally transparent hoax was revealed the same day, after the initial news coverage triggered debate among real Twitter employees about whether or not expected mass layoffs had already started. The Rahul Ligma character next appeared in early November as a recently unemployed FTX employee in the Bahamas. On November 15, Elon Musk, the incoming CEO of Twitter, facetiously offered Ligma and his compatriot their (fictional) old jobs back, and posted a photograph taken with them at Twitter headquarters. Although at least one journalist had publicly apologized for their failure to fact check before reporting the news, several notable media outlets were still oblivious to the running joke, and reported the duo's firing and rehiring as actual news. In social media, the follow-up stunt was widely criticized for lack of sensitivity to actual Twitter employees who had lost their jobs. On November 23, news reports surfaced once again, this time reporting that the actor playing Daniel Johnson had in fact been hired by Twitter for the first time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ElonJet</span> Social media account tracking Elon Musks jet

ElonJet is a service that uses social media accounts to track the real-time usage of Elon Musk's private airplane. The service, created and provided by Jack Sweeney using public data, has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Truth Social, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, and formerly on Twitter, where the Twitter account once had about 530,000 followers, before being suspended. Several of the social media accounts use the handle @elonjet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junlper</span> Pseudonymous Twitter shitposter

Junlper is an American shitposter on Twitter. She is known for posting satirical screenshots of fabricated news stories and is credited with popularizing the term "goblin mode" and creating a viral fake headline about the "dick vein" being removed from Snickers candy bars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ligma joke</span> Internet meme and joke

The Ligma joke first gained popularity online in July 2018. "Ligma" sounds similar to the words "lick my", and became a sophomoric Internet meme to set up a crude joke. When someone unfamiliar with the term is prompted to ask "What's ligma?", the punchline is to respond with "Ligma balls", "Ligma nuts", "Ligma butt" or something similar.

References

  1. ↑ Jean-Pierre Boulé Sartre, self-formation, and masculinities p.53
  2. ↑ Cohen-Solal, Annie (1988) Sartre: A Life pp.61-2 quote:
    During his first years at the Ecole, Sartre was the fearsome instigator of all the revues, all the jokes, all the scandals.
  3. ↑ Godo, Emmanuel (2005) Sartre en diable p.41
  4. ↑ Hayman, Ronald (1987) Sartre: a life pp.69, 318
  5. 1 2 John Gerassi (1989) Jean-Paul Sartre: Protestant or protester? pp.76-7
  6. ↑ Jean-Paul Sartre - philosopher, social advocate
  7. ↑ Sartre By David Drake p.26
  8. 1 2 Ellen Gamerman (2008-09-12). "The New Pranksters". Wall Street Journal.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Mark Dery (1990-12-23). "The Merry Pranksters And the Art of the Hoax". New York Times.
  10. ↑ "20th Annual New York Emmy Awards" (PDF).
  11. ↑ McIntyre, Iain (2023-08-29). "Grevillea: Creative Interventions in Western Australia during the 1990s". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  12. ↑ Neil Strauss (1994-12-19). "A Reluctant Success". New York Times.Chris Dahlen (2004-12-03). "Negativ energy:Hosler hits the road". Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06.
  13. ↑ "Negativland Uses Mosquito Fleet To Bite Clear Channel and the NAB". Infoshop news. 2002-09-13.
  14. ↑ John McMurtrie (2004-10-03). "Pulling Pranks on Those in Power". San Francisco Chronicle.
  15. ↑ "Reporter Uncovers the Dangers of Drinking Grog XD". Asylum.com. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  16. ↑ "C5N - La irresponsabilidad de un noticiero". YouTube. 2009-08-29. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  17. ↑ Laskow, Sarah (July 14, 2017). "The Story of the 'Portofess,' the Prank Confessional Booth at the 1992 Democratic Convention". Atlas Obscura.
  18. ↑ "'Priest', 'portofess' fool media". Newspapers.com. The Miami Herald. July 15, 1992. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  19. ↑ Telford, Taylor (March 30, 2021). "Volkswagen admits its name change was an April Fools' Day prank". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  20. ↑ Reimann, Nicholas. "'Voltswagen' Was A Prank, After All: Volkswagen Rebrand Apparently An Elaborate April Fool's Prank". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  21. 1 2 "'Rahul Ligma' Explains How He And 'Daniel Johnson' Trolled The Media By Pretending To Be Laid-Off Twitter Employees". MSN. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  22. ↑ Keys, Matthew (2022-10-28). "CNBC, Bloomberg duped by pranksters claiming to be laid-off Twitter workers". The Desk. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  23. ↑ Bolies, Corbin (2022-10-31). "CNBC Anchor Apologizes for Getting Duped by Twitter Layoff Trolls". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  24. 1 2 Jakhwal, Sejal (November 15, 2022). "Rahul Ligma, Daniel Johnson Re-Hired, Twitter Boss Elon Musk Says Firing Them Was 'My Biggest Mistake'". The India Times. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  25. ↑ Shuster, Blake (2022-10-28). "Tech reporters fell for a fake Twitter employee purge story". For The Win. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  26. ↑ Varma, Aishwarya (2022-11-18). "Aaj Tak Falls For Joke, Shares Video About Musk 'Rehiring' Two 'Ex-Employees'". TheQuint. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  27. ↑ Alam, Md Mahfooz (2022-11-18). "Aaj Tak mistakes Elon Musk's joke about re-hiring fired employees for real". newsmeter.in. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  28. ↑ Julianto, Ari (November 17, 2022). "Elon Musk hopes to Find a New CEO to Reduce His Working Hours on Twitter". VOI - Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Elon Musk to slash time at Twitter, tells workers to be 'extremely hardcore'". The Hill. Rising: November 17, 2022. 1:05-1:32. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  30. 1 2 Hughes, Abby (4 August 2023). "This Barbie is a hoax: Daryl Hannah teams up with pranksters to announce fake plastic-free doll". CBC Radio.
  31. ↑ Albeck-Ripka, Livia (2023-08-02). "Barbie Hoax Targets Mattel and Fools Some News Outlets". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  32. ↑ Miller, Max (2023-08-06). "Barbie EcoWarriors: How A Fake 'Green' Doll Campaign Fooled The American Media". Looper. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  33. ↑ Narayanan, Manasa (2024-03-13). "The UK's Online Safety Act Is Not Enough To Address Non-consensual Deepfake Pornography | TechPolicy.Press". Tech Policy Press. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  34. ↑ O'Sullivan, Rachel Metz,Donie (2019-06-11). "A deepfake video of Mark Zuckerberg presents a new challenge for Facebook | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-11-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  35. ↑ "Taylor Swift deepfakes spark calls in Congress for new legislation". 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  36. ↑ "Political consultant who admitted deepfaking Biden's voice is indicted, fined $6 million". NBC News. 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
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