Thousands of Filipinos online were kept awake by reports that the giant globe at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City was stolen until it became clear on Sunday that was a publicty stunt and the memes followed.
"MOA Globe" was mentioned 153,000 times on Twitter with many of the posts expressing disblief at how the landmark to one of the world's largest malls could have gone missing. When "MOA HAHAHA" too was trending, the internet realized it was pranked.
It didn't help that SM Mall of Asia management fanned the hype with a statement on the "MOA Globe Incident", also assuring shoppers that its premises were safe.
By early afternoon Sunday, the pushback came in the form of a Shopee listing of the MOA Globe for sale and a flurry of memes.
Netizens put on their detective caps as they tried to wrap their head around how the gigantic globe was stolen, and more importantly, who did it. Check out some of their theories here:
Others also poked fun at the report, with some pointing out that it may have been put on sale on online selling platforms.
So who was responsible for the theft? By noon, it became clear that the incident was part of the marketing campaign for Netflix's new movie "Red Notice" starring Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Gal Gadot.
The SM Mall of Asia management also issued a statement in relation to the publicity stunt, saying that the globe "has been safely returned this morning" and that the area will be put under "Red Notice" for safety.
While some netizens found the trick funny, others said the marketing campaign didn't help in fighting misinformation and disinformation on social media.
University of the Philippines journalism professor Danilo Arao also took a swipe at news outlets who reported on the incident, saying sponsored posts and product placements have "no place in journalism."
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