Thursday, September 23, 2010

Netflix Staged Fake Event & Hired Fake Customers To Gush To Press

Henry Blodget | Sep. 23, 2010

Netflix, a company that has done just about everything right, has been busted for staging a fake event to celebrate its move into Canada--and, worse, hiring actors to pose as customers to extol the service to the press.

The fake event was staged in Toronto. The actors were given written instructions about what to say to reporters.

Netflix explained the gaffe to the AP this way--without actually owning up to it:
A Netflix Inc. spokesman says the company didn't intend to mislead reporters. He apologized.
The spokesman says Netflix couldn't get permission to close an entire street for the event. It dodged the problem by getting a film permit, hiring actors and pretending to shoot a company documentary.
Didn't intend to mislead reporters? What did it intend to do, then?

Embarrassing.

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