The Manufacturing of Virality: How Psyops Rule the Internet
The line between organic discovery and engineered popularity is blurring as marketing firms move beyond traditional advertising. Today, the “viral” success of a band or a startup is often the result of sophisticated “narrative campaigns” designed to fabricate the illusion of a cultural movement.
Recent revelations surrounding the indie band Geese highlight this shift. While the Brooklyn-based group garnered significant buzz following their album Getting Killed, reports from Wired confirmed that their rapid ascent was bolstered by a marketing firm called Chaotic Good. The firm specializes in creating thousands of social media accounts to simulate trending behavior on behalf of clients, which also include pop stars like Zara Larsson and Alex Warren.
The Architecture of Artificial Trends
The strategy relies on sheer volume to trick algorithms and human perception. Instead of relying on authentic fan engagement, firms like Chaotic Good operate offices described as being “overrun with iPhones.” These devices power vast networks of accounts that post content, use trending audio, and flood comment sections to steer discourse.
“A big part of what we are doing is posting enough volume across enough accounts with enough impressions to try to simulate the idea that the song is trending or moving,” explained Chaotic Good co-founder Andrew Spelman in an interview with Billboard.
This tactic is not limited to the music industry. Emerging startups are adopting similar “growth hacking” playbooks to build momentum for consumer apps. For instance, the fashion app Phia, co-founded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, has utilized a “creator farm” model.
“We have a ton of different college students that we pay to make videos about Phia on their own accounts,” Kianni said on her podcast. “We have like ten creators, they post twice a day, and we ultimately reach like 600 videos total.”
The Normalization of Manipulation
The practice of “clipping”—where creators pay networks of users to post highlights of their content—has been standard practice for top streamers like Kai Cenat for some time. Karat Financial co-founder Eric Wei noted to TechCrunch that this strategy is common among the world’s largest digital creators to maximize impressions algorithmically.
The implications of these tactics echo the “Dead Internet Theory,” which suggests that bot-generated content increasingly dominates the web. According to Chaotic Good co-founder Jesse Coren, the reality of the digital landscape is often manufactured: “Everything on the internet is fake. One thing that we always say is all opinions are formed in the TikTok comments.”
When the Fantasy Becomes Transparent
The audience reaction to these revelations varies, but the industry continues to lean into orchestrated narratives. The global girl group Katseye serves as a prime example of an “industry plant” functioning in the open, with their formation documented in the Netflix series Pop Star Academy. By showcasing the intense, executive-led selection process, management creates a parasocial connection that encourages fans to defend the group against the very industry machinery that created them.
As these strategies become more prevalent, the burden of discernment falls on the consumer. The discourse surrounding bands like Geese or the success of viral apps reveals a lack of social consensus regarding where legitimate marketing ends and inauthentic manipulation begins.
Ultimately, whether an audience cares about the artifice behind their favorite media remains an open question. As the internet continues to evolve into a space where trends are bought rather than born, the line between genuine cultural resonance and a “psyop” is increasingly drawn by the fans themselves.