What looked like one of tech’s biggest accidental leaks turned out to be an elaborate fake. OpenAI’s head of communications Lindsay McCallum Rémy shot down the viral story about a disgruntled employee leaking the company’s Super Bowl ad, flatly stating on X that the whole thing is “totally fake”.
The hoax had all the right ingredients to feel real. A Reddit user claiming to be an OpenAI employee posted about the company scrapping its original Super Bowl commercial.
When doubters questioned their legitimacy, they shared a screenshot with metadata containing an FTP link. Someone cracked the password and found a polished minute-long ad featuring actor Alexander Skarsgård examining sleek metallic earbuds and a reflective pebble-shaped case.
The commercial included the words “dime” and “almost time” flashing on screen, which seemed to line up perfectly with existing rumors about OpenAI’s hardware plans. The company has been working with legendary Apple designer Jony Ive since acquiring his startup io Products for $6.5 billion last year. OpenAI confirmed plans to launch consumer hardware in late 2026, though specific details remain under wraps.
The fake leak spread like wildfire across Reddit and X. Particularly, accounts like @alexisohanian and @litcapital spread the news to several hundred thousand users.
What made the fake so convincing was its timing. OpenAI and rival Anthropic have been feuding publicly over Super Bowl advertising. Anthropic ran aggressive commercials mocking ChatGPT’s plans to show ads to users, but has since tweaked its ad. The fake story claimed OpenAI executives pushed for a “safer” ad in response, which fit the narrative people wanted to believe.
Whatever the case, this fake ad clearly had many people fooled, including me for a bit. It’s becoming way too tricky to dissect video fakes, and it’s only going to get worse in the coming months.
The original Reddit post and user account have been deleted, but recordings of the fake ad continue circulating. For now, whatever OpenAI’s actual hardware looks like remains a secret (I guess). The real reveal is still coming later this year.
Dwayne Cubbins
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I cover fast-moving stories across apps, online platforms, and everyday tech — phones, wearables, consoles, and whatever else people are fighting with this week. Bugs, rollouts, scams, policy enforcement, and the occasional internet-culture rabbit hole are all fair game. My goal is simple — make confusing tech news readable. When I'm not working, I'm working out or chilling with my dog. Got a tip? You can find me on X @dcubbins.
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