The fan-led Justice League Snyder Cut campaign was reportedly fueled by fake social media accounts. Warner Bros. hired director Zack Snyder in the early 2010s to shepherd its own interconnected superhero franchise, starting with 2013's Man of Steel. The filmmaker came up with a five-part arc that was supposed to wrap up with Justice League 3, but midway through, the divisive response from the audience caused the studio to shift in a new direction. Because of that, as well as a family tragedy, Snyder was infamously replaced by Joss Whedon during production on the first Justice League.
It is no secret that the production of Justice League was mired with issues. Between rushed rewrites and on-set problems, it is one of, if not the most controversial film of recent years. After it was clear that the theatrical cut of Justice League was significantly different from Snyder's plans, the director's fans started an online campaign demanding Warner Bros. to "Release the Snyder Cut". Known as one of the most dedicated fan communities online, their plea was finally heard when in 2021, Zack Snyder's Justice League was released as a four-hour movie on HBO Max. Now, however, new information has seemingly come to light as to how the movement really works.
Warner Bros. commissioned two reports examining how organic the Release the Snyder Cut campaign really was. Rolling Stone obtained these recently and learned that a significant portion of the social media accounts that discussed the Snyder Cut - 13%, specifically - were deemed fake. This is above the typical 3-5% of fake accounts cyber experts usually see. While there are genuine fans who are dedicated to pushing for this agenda, their message is "amplified by a disproportionate number of bogus accounts." The outlet also specifically cited a report titled "SnyderCut Social Media Presence" that's dated April 2021, a month after Zack Snyder's Justice League premiered. A portion of it reads:
“After researching online conversations about the Snyder Cut of the Justice League‘s release, specifically the hashtags ‘ReleaseTheSnyderCut’ and ‘RestoreTheSnyderVerse’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, [the analysts] detected an increase in negative activity created by both real and fake authors. One identified community was made up of real and fake authors that spread negative content about WarnerMedia for not restoring the ‘SnyderVerse.’ Additionally, three main leaders were identified within the authors scanned on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram — one leader on each platform. These leaders received the highest amount of engagement and have many followers, which gives them the ability to influence public opinion.”
It was also said that there were large amounts of accounts harassing Warner Bros. brass, including Warner Bros. chairman Ann Sarnoff and producer Geoff Johns. This isn't the first time that Snyder fans' presence and reach have been questioned. In May 2022, a separate report claims that the results for the Oscars' Best Cheer Moment and Fan Favorite Movie of 2021, which were fan-voted, were rigged. The accolades went to Justice League and Army of the Dead, respectively and, allegedly did so with the help of automated online accounts. After both of these claims, it will be interesting to see if Warner Bros. will publicly talk about the legitimacy of their commissioned studies. While Zack Snyder's Justice League has already been released, this is still important since the push for Restoring the SnyderVerse is still ongoing. For his part, Snyder has stood by his fans, adding, "I am grateful to both the fan community and Warner Bros. for allowing this to happen. To dwell on negativity and rumors serves no one."
As the new report repeatedly indicates, however, this doesn't invalidate the existence of genuine fans who are dedicated to Snyder and his filmmaking. Since the Justice League Snyder Cut movement started, it has proven time and again that it exists beyond social media with various projects, including additional marketing endeavors and fundraising for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in honor of Snyder's late daughter, Autumn. Instead, these new claims question just how big and influential the movement really is without the existence of a boost from bots and fake accounts.
Source: Rolling Stone
