The Anti-social Network on 4OD from today - 11th December 2013

11 December 2013

Watch on 4OD from today

Social Media has turned us all into reporters but do the public and celebrities really understand the consequences of a ‘RT’, a rant about breaking news, a comment on quirky online tales or a statement on serious scandals. Dogged by phone hacking trials and diminishing trust the British press is enduring an all-time low. But at the same time it still faces a daily battle to feed the insatiable appetite of 24/7 rolling news and the internet’s desire for shareable news.

The Anti-Social Network is a ragtag band of geeks, mad Ad men and out-of-work actors committed to rustling up the most ludicrous hoax stories and seeing how far up the media chain they will stick.

Enter Fame Daddy http://famedaddy.com - the world’s first celebrity sperm bank – it was launched in the UK, heralding a new frontier in fertility treatment, but just how far up the media chain would this bizarre story climb? Did it even warrant mainstream news coverage?

Over a 48 hour period, Fame Daddy travelled the globe, appearing on over 700 news shows and channels. It whipped up a perfect storm of media hype and outrage. #celebspermclinic became a trending topic across Twitter.

But Fame Daddy was a fake: part of an elaborate experiment to explore how misinformation pervades in the digital age. And now it’s time to show you how we pulled it off.

The Anti-Social Network is a satirical take on how news is created and interrogated in the chaotic culture of free, instant media. It also asks questions about how we scrutinise information appearing on our own social networks in the daily race to share something first.

 

Commissioning Editor for C4: Tom Beck/Jody Smith

Narrator: Reece Shearsmith

Starring: Graham Dickson/ Leila Farzad/ Marene Miller/ Jonathan Sayer/ Mike Wozniak

Directed by: Tom Forbes

Producer: Iain Wimbush

Executive Producers: Mark Boyd/Mark Eaves/ Michael Livingstone

A Studio of Fools Production with 2LE Productions for Channel 4