The Forgotten Pop-Culture Scooper War of 2020
It was the height of the Covid Nineteen Pandemic and everyone was stuck at home on their computers. Zack Snyder's Justice League was just announced and pop-culture fans around the World were reeling uncertain of when they would catch the next installment of one of their beloved franchises.
You see, the months leading to this moment saw Hollywood scrambling. This World pandemic was shutting down productions, completed films were being delayed, and because of this no one knew what the future would hold for the biggest film genre.... Comic Book movies.
So as we all sat at home, jiggling our mouse on our work laptop every few minutes pretending to work, a War began to simmer on Social Media.... one that many didn't realize was about to explode and lead pop-culture fandom down a very dark path of hatred and anger that is still felt to this day.
The Great Pop-Culture Scooper War was about to begin.
Scooping: What is it?
Before we get into the war, lets make sure everyone understands what a Scooper is. And no, I'm not talking about the contraption you use to pick up dog poop in the yard.
Honestly, you can't even compare many of these people to that as most of them aren't nearly as reliable or useful as a pooper scooper is. But I digress.
A pop-culture scooper is someone who spoils or leaks unreleased information on an upcoming project first. It could be a movie, video game, book, comic book... really anything.
In order to be considered a reliable scooper the information you share needs to be accurate more often than not.
However, there are a handful of people that have found a place in this field by simply telling half truths, lies and what the audience wants to hear. I wouldn't call them scoopers as they are more like grifters and con-men than anything else.
With that out of the way, let's get into some of the who that filled our timelines and YouTube screens through 2020 and most of 2021.
The Players: Who Are The Names to Know?
During this time we saw a plethora of old and new players pop up. All of whom were trying to grab the attention of the bored and lost pop-culture fans. I'd like to believe that they were once honorable in their endeavors. Perhaps they were simply trying to find a quick way to build a brand? Sadly though it became clear, quite quickly that accuracy, honor, and dignity were not at the forefront of many of their minds.
Some names you may have seen during this time are Lightcast Podcast, Reel Anarchy, Geekosity, The Cutlured Nerd, Beyond the Trailer, Daniel RPK, Small Screen, Mike Zeroh, Syl Abdul, Giant Freakin Robot, Making Star Wars, and We Got This Covered.
Now mind you some of those names are 100% grifters while some are legit scoopers who have sources within the industry and have been at the game for a number of years in some capacity. Regardless though, it was during this time that these names began popping off across all social platforms. You couldn't scroll through Comic Book Twitter, Facebook or YouTube without seeing a number of these names showing up in your feed.
The problem is, not any one two of them was ever reporting on the same scoops or leaks. Most of the time it was conflicting reports which became the set up for the pop-culture scoop war.
The War: The Battle of the Scoops Begins
During this era of Pop-Culture fandom, the audience was clamoring for any and all information they could get on cancelled and delayed projects. The State of DC films being in flux due to management change. Marvel was heading into the post Endgame era. And Star Wars had television in its sights.
Fans were itching for anything they could sink their teeth into..... Unfortunately, the scoopers and grifter saw this as an opportunity to cash in and they did just that.
Lightcast Podcast, the Cultured Nerd, Syl Abdul, Reel Anarchy and even Grace Randolph went full steam ahead covering DC "leaks" at a rapid pace.
This "scoop" always makes me laugh
Others like Geekosity and Small Screen focused more on the Marvel side. With Mike Zeroh and Making Star Wars keeping their eye on a Galaxy far far away.
Information couldn't get out fast enough. Whether it was leaking information on the JJ Abrams Justice League Dark film or the fact that the Sinister Six were going to be the main villains of the third Tom Holland Spider-Man movie.... Scoops were dropping at a rapid pace.
You'd think that studios would want this to stop, especially during a time of such uncertainty. Not at all though. Anything to keep the audience's attention on their product with little to no money spent by them. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the false scoops were planted by the studios simply to keep talk alive. (Looking at you WB and Grace)
While things were really heating up and fans believed they were eating good, there were some eagle eyed enthusiasts who began to realize something wasn't right. Pop-Culture fandom, which was already one that loved to have heated debates about Star Wars vs Star Trek or Comic version vs Film version, started fighting amongst themselves even more. Things were getting dicey, fans were no longer talking about which franchise they liked better or version of the character they preferred..... No, it was which scoop was more accurate.
YIKES!
Choice: Pick a Side
There comes a time in every nerds life where you must choose which type of nerd you will be. Is it Star Wars, Anime, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Comic Books or any of the other options that are out there. But never did I expect in 2020 that there would be a time where we as nerds had to pick which scooper....which grifter we had to side with.
The main problem with this was none of them were right 100% of the time if ever. So it was sort of like picking which of the Star Wars sequels is best. They all suck but you are sorta forced to do it because you are a nerd.
I found myself in many Twitter arguments simply because I was on the side that Ryan Reynolds would NOT be returning as Green Lantern... I was called every name in the book, I was called pathetic for believing anything else. I was told I shouldn't listen to (Insert Scooper) beca
This is the community that scooping in 2020 created. It pitted fans against each other for no other reason than to be right.
About what though? Superhero films and capeshit?
Misleading: The Grifters Way
Don't get me wrong, some people hate to be spoiled by leaks and would rather see big reveals when the studio wants the fans to see them. But that really isn't the main issue with all of this. There is a much larger problem that has grown out of control, and even more so, because of this particular war that started in the spring of 2020.
False and made up information for clout.
You see, the scoop game is a dangerous and finicky one.
First, You need to have sources (someone on the inside with actual knowledge of what is happening in the studio/s). This isn't typically an easy thing to accomplish. Usually this is knowing someone who knows someone. Or at best a friend or family member. But that there gets sketchy as you then risk their livelihood.
Secondly, You need to have a personality that is trustworthy and honest. You can go about this one of two ways. Either build the audience by being honest and fun with who is listening to you. Or, you can find a group of fans who are looking for anything they can sink their teeth into and begin feeding them morsels of whatever it is they want. This is where things separate the scoopers from the grifters though.
Not everyone can get sources, but anyone can easily make up a story. Heck even talented ones can come up with some believable ones related to current events in the pop-culture world.
See, we all want that fame... we want that moment of glory where our post on X gets a HUGE reaction or we get a video on YouTube that gets a few thousand views. It gives us a sense of accomplishment... a sense of purpose. And while there are honorable people who won't misguide and lead people astray to do that. Well, there are less than respectable ones who will write articles, post videos and write on social media made up leaks and rumors simply to get a rise and reaction from fans to get that feeling. The problem is, in the long run it doesn't hurt them... It really only hurts the larger pop-culture fan base.
Aftermath: Pop-Culture Fandom
To be fair, pop-culture fandom has been struggling for a number of years to this point. From terrible agendas being pushed in our beloved franchises like Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of The Rings and Marvel. The boiling point for fans has all but bubbled over. But what transpired in 2020-2021 really pushed fans to the point of what appears to be the point of no return. What was once a fandom of coming together and fun is now bickering and, dare I say, hatred towards one another.
The constant misleading by grifters, but the false hope that many give to fans, particularly within the DC fanbase has seemingly created such a toxic environment that any actual news that does drop for that brand is met with divisive rhetoric instead of curious intrigue.
You can say that is happening with pop-culture as a whole, sure. But you can tell the difference when the fans are focusing on the perceived agenda pushing or simply the false narratives that grifter/scoopers have been pushing for months or years.
And this is the real problem.
We sit here in 2024 at the tail end of the biggest Pop-Culture BOOM in Hollywood history. The fandom within should be stronger than ever (save the split against the agenda pushing). But we are a fandom divided because Scoopers and Grifters are chasing clout... chasing a dream of being popular on social media.
They don't care about you. Their only concern is that of getting the most clicks possible on their next article or video... the truth be damned.
Sure, there are some out there who get it right sometimes... even the grifters find a blind squirrel with an acorn at times. But the question remains, is it really worth destroying the fandom
Aftermath: Scoopers & Grifters
Outlets like, Lightcast, Giant Freakin Robot, and We Got This Covered have either disappeared or have been tarnished so much by their obvious clout chasing that many have ignored them nearly out of existence.
Others though have found a way to stay afloat, whether it is due to their longevity of being in the game like Grace Randolph and her channel Beyond the Trailer or the ingenuity of host to shift away from playing in that sandbox and focusing more on actual news and pop-culture related content.
Where Does it Leave The Fans?
Well it leaves everything up to you at this point. Will you continue to give in and support these clout chasing grifters or will you take a stand against them?
There is already too much divide in this World and furthering it because of con-men on the internet spreading false and ignorant rhetoric about pop-culture is pretty weird if you ask me.
