This week social networks have exploded following the publication of the Rolling Stone article that delved into the #ReleasetheSnyderCut movement and how they got the release launched. Zack Snyder Justice League thanks to the use of bots
This week we echoed an article published by Rolling Stone that reviewed the entire history behind the #ReleasetheSnyderCut movement, whose main conclusions reached in said article is that basically bots were used in social networks to pressure Warner Bros. to the launch of the Zack Snyder Justice League, arguing that at least 13% of the accounts that supported the movement were part of paid or unusual traffic. Resource that certain companies often use to exert pressure or position certain hastags.
As published Forbesdespite the fact that it is a very high number of false accounts considering that the average on Twitter is 5%, it does not take away from the fact that 87% of the users who supported the movement were real and authentic fans of the director’s work , so Rolling Stone’s statement, where it is mentioned that a “army of bots forced Warner to release the movie” is a bit exaggerated.
However, the article highlights the aggressive behavior of Zack Snyder’s fans, a movement classified as hostile and not very self-critical with his fanaticism and vision of the director, which they affirmed after the publication of the Rolling Stone article as a strategy to sabotage the imminent release in digital format of Zack Snyder Justice League.
For that, you just have to keep an eye on social networks, and see their reaction as soon as the article was published, taking the matter personally. Nor does he deny that the director has used the movement in his favor, has enjoyed it and used it to pressure the studio, since he continually encourages him with his publications on the Vero social network. Forbes also highlights the alleged threats made by the filmmaker against Geoff Jons and Jon Berg, whom Zack “would destroy” in social networks if they did not remove their names from the Snyder Cut of Justice League.
Forbes writer Tassi also expresses that “It’s hard to blame Snyder himself”. Because the director had to leave the project The Justice League to deal with a family tragedy. Joss Whedon, responsible for the first two films of The Avengers of Marvel Studios, was hired by WB to finish the filmmaker’s work, however the result was more than disappointing, not to mention that it turned the production into a real hell, along with some studio executives, who by the way after the merger of Warner Bros and Discovery, many of them have their days numbered in the studio, including Walter Hamada current president of DC Films. Something that keeps the flame of movement alive, #restorezacksnyderverse, that he doesn’t give up hope that Snyder will return to Warners to complete his vision of the DCEU.
He also recalls the article that Warner Bros did not give in to the Snyder Cut movement due to its pressure on social networks, but saw in it an opportunity to boost subscriptions on HBO Max, the platform where the film was released. They were “trying to leverage my fan base to bolster subscribers for their new streaming service”Snyder said at the time.
The Rolling Stone article and the reaction of some of those involved
On the one hand, both the WB executives and the companies that were supposedly commissioned to study the social networks that detected the use of bots have not commented on the Rolling Stone article, despite the fact that Cinemascomics tagged in a thread on Twitter to the companies in charge of said study. However, the reactions of two involved in this entire soap opera have transpired.
Cyborg actor Ray Fisher, a victim of Whedon, who saw how his role was reduced to nothing compared to the leading role he had in the Zack Snyder Justice League, stated through his twitter account that he was nothing more than a “artificial hit piece” and He denied that his team was contacted by Rolling Stone in time to issue a response.
Nice try, but you cropped out the part of those emails where @TatianaSiegel27 switched deadlines on my team
Trying to spin half-furnished emails into a “gotcha” will get you nowhere @NoahShachtman @RollingStone please rein in your employees. This is embarrassing and amateurish https://t.co/sJvlah7DsE pic.twitter.com/0Xbhq6vSF4
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 19, 2022
Zack Snyder also reacted to the publication of the article although not without controversy
Snyder turned to Vero to promote the digital release of the Zack Snyder Justice League shortly after the Rolling Stone article was published, but the words used in his post did not exactly endear him to his detractors, as it included part from the following quote by Benito Mussolini (Known for being a dictator who established a totalitarian regime in Italy): “If I advance, follow me. If I back down, kill me. If I die, avenge me! It is better to live one day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep!
An unfortunate word considering you’re being accused of encouraging your ardent/militant supporters to launch a hate campaign, so quoting a famous fascist dictator is probably not the best idea.
Snyder’s post has inevitably drawn criticism on social media, and while it’s entirely possible that he wasn’t fully aware of the source of the quote he used, many seem to feel that it was a deliberate attempt to stir up more controversy and bring people together. His Followers.
Having said all this, the conclusion is that this controversy and the debate it has sparked on social networks, the only thing it has helped is that the #ReleasetheSnyderCut movement is more alive than ever and the digital launch of the Zack Snyder Cut is on everyone’s lips.