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Media prank
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.
In May 1927, Jean-Paul Sartre, who was known as one of the fiercest pranksters at the École Normale Superieure organized with his comrades Nizan, Larroutis, Baillou and Herland, 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. A scandal followed resulting in the resignation of the École director Gustave Lanson.
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. 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. 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) about a supposed "cathouse for dogs". In a 1987 interview, Skaggs said, "I started doing hoaxes to point out the inadequacies and dangers of an irresponsible press".
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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. Dubbed "Portofess", the portable confessional offering "religion on the move for people on the go", fooled dozens of journalists before the hoax was exposed.
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Media prank AI simulator
(@Media prank_simulator)
Media prank
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.
In May 1927, Jean-Paul Sartre, who was known as one of the fiercest pranksters at the École Normale Superieure organized with his comrades Nizan, Larroutis, Baillou and Herland, 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. A scandal followed resulting in the resignation of the École director Gustave Lanson.
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. 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. 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) about a supposed "cathouse for dogs". In a 1987 interview, Skaggs said, "I started doing hoaxes to point out the inadequacies and dangers of an irresponsible press".
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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. Dubbed "Portofess", the portable confessional offering "religion on the move for people on the go", fooled dozens of journalists before the hoax was exposed.