Voltswagen
Campaign · 2021
VW’s fake rename drew about 38,300 online mentions, then an apology and an SEC inquiry.
Nathan Bomey
@NathanBomey · Mar 30, 2021
Dear Volkswagen: You lied to me. You lied to AP, CNBC, Reuters and various trade pubs. This was not a joke. It was deception. In case you hadn’t noticed, we have a misinformation problem in this country. Now you’re part of it. Why should anyone trust you again?
Volkswagen
@VW · Mar 31, 2021
What began as an April Fool’s effort got the whole world buzzing. Turns out people are as passionate about our heritage as they are about our electric future. So whether it’s Voltswagen or Volkswagen, people talking about electric driving and our ID.4 can only be a good thing.
Spread Score
How it worksNumbers
- Peak proxy date
- Week of Mar 30, 2021
- Mar 29 ’21 to Week of Mar 30, 2021
- Platforms
- 4
- Started on Open web
- Origin
- Stunt
- Auto & mobility
How it spread
Trace the originVW posted a false US rename, then confirmed it to reporters and on social media. After outlets reported it as fact, VW admitted the ID.4 promotion was a prank. Corrections, an apology and an SEC inquiry extended the story.
Proxy date; not a directly measured attention peak. Some dates are known only to the week, month or year.
Timeline (16)
March 2021
u/helpmeredditimbored and r/cars commenters platform jump · Mar 29 ’21
A Reddit thread shared CNBC’s report and debated whether it was an April Fools’ joke.[3]
Join free to see why it worked and the other 13 events. Free, on every case.
Spread the same way
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- 1A leak format can recruit reporters, but false confirmations put source trust at risk.
Every number (14)
- Meltwater online mentions, March 29 to April 1; approximate“about 38.3k online mentions”38.3K[14]
Press (12 outlets)
- Mar 29, 2021same day
Engadget · Is Volkswagen rebranding its US operation to 'Voltswagen of America' or not?
You’ve seen 1 of 4 steps, 1 of 14 numbers and 1 of 12 outlets. Pro opens the rest, with all 18 sources.