20th Century Fox apologizes for fake news campaign
The studio said the digital marketing effort was ‘inappropriate on every level, especially given the trust we work to build every day with our consumers.’
As communicators grapple with the epidemic of fake news and how it destroys credibility, one organization has accepted blame for its active participation.
The studio recently apologized for launching a campaign that used fake news to promote its psychological thriller, “A Cure for Wellness.”
The mea culpa came after Buzzfeed published an investigative report on Tuesday:
At the core of the campaign is a network of five fake local news sites that are inserting promotional references to the film into hoaxes. The sites also host ads for the film and for a fake water brand that in at least one case directs people to a website directly linked to the film.
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