A coordinated hoax fooled parts of the tech world during Super Bowl LX Sunday night, as fabricated screenshots claimed OpenAI had accidentally leaked a commercial for its first hardware device. The elaborate scheme included fake Reddit posts, doctored news headlines, and even paid promotional offers sent to tech reporters days before the game. OpenAI president Greg Brockman and company spokesperson Lindsay McCallum Rémy quickly debunked the claims, but not before the fake ad featuring actor Alexander Skarsgård and a mysterious orb-shaped device circulated widely across social platforms.
OpenAI found itself battling more than just Super Bowl advertising controversy on Sunday night. As the game wound down, a carefully orchestrated hoax began spreading across social media, falsely claiming the company had accidentally leaked a commercial for its first consumer hardware device.
The fake story appeared first on Reddit, where a now-deleted post supposedly came from a frustrated OpenAI employee. The account, going by the username "wineheda," claimed to be upset that an ad they'd worked on didn't air during the game. Along with the complaint came a full video of what appeared to be a polished commercial featuring actor Alexander Skarsgård interacting with futuristic wraparound earbuds and a sleek metallic orb.
The timing seemed perfect. OpenAI has been working with legendary Apple designer Jony Ive on AI hardware, and rumors about the company's first physical product have been circulating for months. The fake ad played directly into existing speculation about what that device might look like.
But the whole thing fell apart under scrutiny. OpenAI president Greg Brockman quickly commented on X calling the story "fake news." Company spokesperson Lindsay McCallum Rémy was even more direct, "this is totally fake."
