Planting False Stories to Stay Relevant
Ironically, if the false narratives suit the actors, they do not care to deny it. Are these narratives being put out to keep the buzz about actors and films alive?
If you had been scrolling through social media recently, the “announcement” of Deepika Padukone joining The White Lotus Season 4 was trending. Neither the actor, nor her publicist, nor even the creators of the HBO series had made any such announcement. A week later, the narrative shifted. It was being claimed that not Deepika, but Nora Fatehi had been roped in. When the formal cast announcement finally arrived, neither Deepika nor Nora featured on the list.
Where and how did this story originate? Strangely, neither was the casting denied by either Deepika or Nora’s team!
“There’s no source — just keyboard warriors who start speculation. It gets picked up by social media pages and, in the absence of verification, is sometimes published by websites. It’s a vicious cycle that has only amplified with the explosion of social media platforms,” says an informed industry source.
Blind Items 2.0
Blind items are no longer confined to the “guess who” columns of tabloids. Today, they resurface as Instagram reels, Twitter threads and Reddit deep dives, often stripped of nuance and context. “I think the trend was always there,” says Bishall Paull, CEO of Little Monk Entertainment. “Today, many pages are run by PR agencies who also represent actors. For relevance, they feed narratives that ‘keep them in the news’”.
A writer formerly associated with a well-known digital platform reveals that while working on stories, subtle nudges would arrive from PRs and talent managers suggesting the addition of an “informed source” angle — often tied to the promise of a future exclusive.
An actor, speaking anonymously, admits that there is sometimes a grain of truth buried in gossip. “You have to take it with a pinch of salt, but occasionally you need to read between the lines,” the actor says.
In some cases, the source of the buzz is closer than one might think. “If you’re not being talked about, you don’t exist. Sometimes narratives are planted just to stay relevant. Once it’s out there, it takes a life of its own,” the actor says.
Film critic Joginder Tuteja believes the ecosystem has fundamentally shifted. “Earlier, you had credible websites. Now anyone can create an Instagram page and package ‘news’ with slick creatives. There’s no accountability. If something goes viral, it gets picked up elsewhere and suddenly acquires credibility. Yes, PR plugs exist — but this new wave of social media pages has accelerated fake narratives because there’s no responsibility attached.”
