HBO boss admits using fake social media accounts to bash TV critics

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The head of HBO has admitted to creating fictitious social media accounts to push back on criticism of the network’s shows, describing the move as a “very dumb idea to vent my frustration”.

“I want the shows to be great . . . it’s very important to me what you think of the shows. So think of that mindset, and then think of 2020 and 2021, I’m working from home, spending an unhealthy amount of time scrolling through Twitter,” HBO’s chief executive Casey Bloys told reporters on Thursday. “And I come up with a very, very dumb idea to vent my frustration.”

Bloys, a respected media executive who is credited for hits such as The White Lotus and Succession, came under fire this week after messages he sent were unearthed as part of a wrongful termination lawsuit filed against HBO by a former staffer.

According to a report in Rolling Stone, Bloys and his team created fake accounts on Twitter, the social media site now known as X, to fight back at television critics online in 2020 and 2021.

Addressing a previously scheduled HBO press event in New York, Bloys apologised for the gaffe, adding that he has since begun directly messaging journalists to express his feedback.

Bloys has been a steady hand at HBO during a tumultuous era at the network after it was sold twice in the span of five years as part of two media megamergers.

When telecoms company AT&T acquired HBO parent Time Warner in 2018, the network’s longtime chief Richard Plepler left after clashes with new management. But Bloys stayed on and has continued to churn out award-winning shows for the prestige television channel.

In 2022, Warner merged with media group Discovery, putting HBO under the same roof as reality television fare and giving Bloys a new boss: Discovery chief David Zaslav.

HBO has been the centrepiece of the flagship Max streaming service from the combined group Warner Bros Discovery, as it looks to compete with larger rivals Netflix and Disney.

Warner Bros Discovery had 96mn streaming subscribers at the end of June, while HBO received 125 Emmy award nominations this year, more than any other network.

The parent company lost $1.2bn in the second quarter as revenue declined 4 per cent from a year ago to $10.4bn. Under Zaslav, Warner Bros Discovery has been focused on austerity over the past year, a strategy it says is paying off. Warner says its Max streaming unit will be profitable in the US this year.