One of the most fascinating subplots of the dueling Fyre Festival documentaries on streaming platforms is the role the company F*ckJerry had in the promotion of the doomed festival. F*ckJerry is barely mentioned in the Netflix documentary, likely because they helped make it along with Vice.
The Hulu examination of Fyre Festival, however, takes a much more critical look at the role F*ckJerry took in the festival’s promotion and how it tamped down the concerns of those who noticed something was amiss in the days and weeks leading up to the event. A former F*ckJerry employee was interviewed and went into detail about how the company, which started as a social media account that shared jokes and memes, helped Fyre Festival gain attention online.
In the aftermath of the dueling documentaries, many have questioned F*ckJerry’s business practices, with some suggesting a boycott of the company. Some comedians and web content creators came forward claiming the company stole content and republished it without permission or credit, and those prominent names drew more attention to the movement.
Actor and comedian John Mulaney added to that crowd on Saturday, posting on Instagram and asking his fans to unfollow F*ckJerry accounts after they’ve allegedly stolen jokes from him in the past.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtYrImYhJW3/
Mulaney isn’t the first comedian to accuse the account of stealing jokes, as it’s been sort of an open secret among those who spend a lot of time online. But those who have a more passing interest in Internet culture and social media seem to have learned a lot more about how the company operates. It seems the additional attention the company received from Fyre Festival and the documentaries made many realize those behind the account were making money off the practice, which some may brush off as harmless misattribution.
Colin Hanks added to the chorus as well, using a similar orange box that F*ckJerry conceptualized to draw attention to Fyre Festival to implore his followers to unfollow the company’s accounts.
Comedian Tim Heidecker even wrote a song for the movement.
hey @megh_wright figured you could use a jingle for your movement #fuckfuckjerry https://t.co/wbuO5M8Inp
— Tim Heidecker™ Official (@timheidecker) February 2, 2019
Vic Berger, a web creator who has accused the account of stealing his content a number of times over the years, did his video magic to catalog the account’s long history of joke stealing.
https://twitter.com/VicBergerIV/status/1091457962147827712
It’s unclear whether the campaign is resulting in lost followers for F*ckJerry, but it’s clear that comedians are trying to get the word out that they’re not happy about how the company does business.
UPDATE: F*ckJerry founder Elliot Tebele released a statement on Medium on Saturday that said the company has changed its policies about attributing content to others online.
Effective immediately, we will no longer post content when we cannot identify the creator, and will require the original creator’s advanced consent before publishing their content to our followers. It is clear that attribution is no longer sufficient, so permission will become the new policy.