Bogus ‘Adidas’ Press Releases Claim Workers Have Power, To Trigger Its Reaction
While you have likely come across attempts to spread disinformation on social media and in videos, it’s not often one scrutinizes seemingly legitimate press releases.
As it turns out, emails sent by an “Adidas Press Office” have been unveiled as a hoax, in which the false messages hailed a new dawn at the company, claiming it would be adopting “bottom-up” leadership.
According to Drapers, which received the messages but did not publish the information, the fake releases made grand claims, such as that the sportswear giant was “reshaping the very structure” of the company.
Most notably, it mentioned that Adidas would be “making an immediate payment of €11.2 million (US$12 million)” in the form of wages to Cambodian workers who did not receive compensation from suppliers during the pandemic.
In addition, as per CNBC, one hoax message said that Vay Ya Nak Phoan, allegedly a former Cambodian factory worker and union leader, had been appointed to the board as co-CEO to “ensure ethical compliance in manufacturing.”
None of these allegations were true, and signs pointed towards activist group The Yes Men as the brains behind the hoax, which later confirmed to the publication it was indeed responsible for the releases together with other groups.
Known for creating spoofs, the collective said it pulled the stunt in hopes of prompting Adidas to sign the ‘Pay Your Workers’ labor agreement, allowing for garment workers to organize and demand higher wages.
Other faked press releases said the company was launching a new clothing line—‘REALITYWEAR’—by celebrities Pharrell Williams, Bad Bunny, and Philllllthy, scheduled to debut at Berlin Fashion Week.
A spokesperson from Adidas told publications—some of which had inadvertently published the stories as truth—that it had in fact not released statements or “made comments on an alleged restructuring” and that the messages were not real.
[via Drapers and CNBC, cover image via Mailos | Dreamstime.com]
