Call of Duty dev apologizes for fake terrorist “news” Twitter promo

This is what the @CallofDuty account looked like briefly on September 29.

The director of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 has apologized for a widely criticized marketing stunt that used Twitter to broadcast details of a fictional terrorist attack under the name "Current Event Aggregate."

Late last month, the nearly three million followers of the @CallofDuty Twitter account saw a surprising tweet from the account—"BREAKING NEWS: Unconfirmed reports are coming in of an explosion on the North bank of the Singapore Marina." Eighteen similar tweets followed over the next two hours or so, discussing details of the fake bombing including "no-fly orders," roadblocks, rioting mobs, a quarantine zone, and a state of martial law enforced by drone in the Southeast Asian country.

During the campaign, the Call of Duty Twitter account had its name and art changed to support a fake "Current Events Aggregate" branding, with the tagline "Where we bring you real news." The only indication that the "breaking news" was fictional (aside from the light gray @CallOfDuty username still visible on feeds) was a single tweet posted more than four hours after the marketing stunt started: "This was a glimpse into the future fiction of #BlackOps3."