The John Rhys-Davies Internet Rumor Experiment
Rubber Chicken has posted an interesting account of their experiment in spreading rumors and misinformation via their internet. What they wanted to do was plant one seed of misinformation, and see how far it would spread. As it turned out, it spread quite far.
Their seed of misinformation was this: they made up a rumor that actor John Rhys-Davies, of Sliders fame, was going to provide the voice for General Grievous, the new CGI villain in Star Wars Episode III. They emailed this rumor to Ain't It Cool News, where it was promptly posted as a hot new piece of movie gossip. They then sat back and watched the rumor spread, which it quickly did. Other movie sites quickly picked up the news, and newspapers such as The Guardian even reported it: "Later reports listed IGN and The Guardian - yes, the god damned Guardian - as sources, which effectively meant the news progressively got more reliable. Barely 48 hours after the original announcement, many were already discussing Rhys-Davies' role as if it were confirmed."
Their seed of misinformation was this: they made up a rumor that actor John Rhys-Davies, of Sliders fame, was going to provide the voice for General Grievous, the new CGI villain in Star Wars Episode III. They emailed this rumor to Ain't It Cool News, where it was promptly posted as a hot new piece of movie gossip. They then sat back and watched the rumor spread, which it quickly did. Other movie sites quickly picked up the news, and newspapers such as The Guardian even reported it: "Later reports listed IGN and The Guardian - yes, the god damned Guardian - as sources, which effectively meant the news progressively got more reliable. Barely 48 hours after the original announcement, many were already discussing Rhys-Davies' role as if it were confirmed."
Categories: Entertainment, Pranks Posted by Alex on Sun Mar 27, 2005 |
Comments (9) |
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Bad Dates
Posted by Raoul on Sun Mar 27, 2005 at 07:05 PM
I'm sure this has NOTHING to do with people over concerning any Star Wars-related news...
Posted by Tom on Sun Mar 27, 2005 at 07:41 PM
"of Sliders fame"?
The man was in all 3 Lord of the Rings movies as a major character (he was Gimli) and he still gets listed as "of Sliders fame" these days?! No justice in this world...
Posted by Hioshi on Sun Mar 27, 2005 at 11:18 PM
The man was in all 3 Lord of the Rings movies as a major character (he was Gimli) and he still gets listed as "of Sliders fame" these days?! No justice in this world...
point taken
From now on he will be known as The Dwarf
Posted by Beasjt on Mon Mar 28, 2005 at 06:44 AM
From now on he will be known as The Dwarf
...He was also the voice of Treebeard the Ent.
Anywho...doesn't surprise me.
Posted by Maegan on Mon Mar 28, 2005 at 07:32 AM
Anywho...doesn't surprise me.
Ironic that "The Dwarf" was the tallest of the fellowship. He needed no scaled height tricks to appear much taller than all the hobbits.
Posted by Splarka on Mon Mar 28, 2005 at 01:38 PM
JR-D agreed to play the role of Ignatz, in the sequel to "Deep Llama", tentatively titled: "DL2: Down Under Llama". When asked if this role was beneath him, Rhys-Davies said: "BAH", and spit on the reporter
Posted by Raoul on Mon Mar 28, 2005 at 04:02 PM
Of sliders fame?
I remember him from Indiana Jones...he was in Raiders and Last Crusade. Maybe I'm just getting old.
Posted by Gentropy on Tue Mar 29, 2005 at 06:20 AM
I remember him from Indiana Jones...he was in Raiders and Last Crusade. Maybe I'm just getting old.
...I think this is how CBS reported it's Bush story as well.
Posted by Chris on Sat Apr 02, 2005 at 12:34 PM
{stupid336x280}
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