The Manufactured Outrage Around Swatch

Cyabra identified coordinated inauthentic behavior shaping the online narrative following Swatch’s controversial ad campaign.

Following Swatch’s controversial ad campaign, online outrage erupted almost overnight. Mentions of the brand on X spiked by more than 24,000% in just two days, with thousands of posts condemning the ad as racist and culturally insensitive. However, what appeared to be a wave of public anger wasn’t entirely authentic.

Cyabra’s analysis uncovered coordinated activity that magnified real frustration into a viral storm. Dozens of accounts shared identical language, hashtags, and timing patterns, producing over 1.3 million potential views.

#Brand Reputation, Threat Actors