"The email came from a creative advertising agency and the proposal was a potential collaboration in which Gardner would be paid if he was willing to act, in secret, as a social media influencer on behalf of Ousmane Dembele, the Paris Saint-Germain forward. We are exploring a one-month campaign designed to spark dialogue and strengthen the narrative around Ousmane Dembele's candidacy for the Ballon d'Or, the email explained."
"Specifically, we would like to propose three carefully crafted tweets per week over the course of a month that highlight his performances, impact and overall case for his recognition. Given your credibility and reach within the football community, your involvement would add meaningful weight to this conversation. At this stage, we'd like to request your quotations for this engagement. At home in Melbourne, Australia, Gardner could hardly believe what he was reading."
A creative advertising agency emailed a sports writer proposing a paid, covert social media campaign to promote Ousmane Dembele's Ballon d'Or candidacy. The campaign offered three tailored tweets per week for a month to highlight Dembele's performances, impact and overall case for recognition, and requested quotations for the engagement. The email emphasized strict confidentiality and discretion. The recipient, based in Melbourne, rejected the offer and publicly posted the solicitation on X with the agency name redacted. The recipient criticized the proposal as ridiculous and sought to raise awareness about being offered money to influence public opinion.
Read at www.nytimes.com
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