The Anti-Social Network
- Online sketch show
- 2013
- 1 pilot
A pilot published on 4oD. Reece Shearsmith explains how a team set up satirical fake news stories to fool the world's media. Stars Graham Dickson, Leila Farzad, Marene Miller, Mike Wozniak, Jonathan Sayer and Reece Shearsmith
Key details
- Genre
- Sketch Show
- Published
- 2013
- Platform
- Channel 4 (Online)
- Episodes
- 1 Pilot
- Creators
- Mark Boyd and Mark Eaves
- Stars
- Graham Dickson, Leila Farzad, Marene Miller, Mike Wozniak, Jonathan Sayer and Reece Shearsmith
- Writers
- Mark Boyd, Mark Eaves, Michael Livingstone, Tommy Forbes, Iain Wimbush and Rhodri Crooks
- Director
- Tommy Forbes
- Producers
- Iain Wimbush, Mark Boyd, Mark Eaves and Michael Livingstone
- Company
Reece Shearsmith explains how a team of comic actors fooled the world's media with a fake story.
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 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 - 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. This programme explains all.
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.
Additional details
- Production
- Studio
- Picture
- Colour