The Foolitzer Prizes Shine the Spotlight on Fake News

Brazil combats misinformation by awarding the year’s worst fake news.

“Fake news” has been featured prominently in the world lately. Now the Brazilian website E-farsas—literally “e-farces”—is doing something about it.

Together with Leo Burnett Tailor Made, E-farsas has launched The Foolitzer Prizes. A nod to the famous Pulitzer Prize, which honors achievements in journalism, the Foolitzers were created to acknowledge the worst fake news of the year.

The awards’ intention is to give the creators of fake news what they don’t want: the spotlight. For the inaugural awards, E-farsas curated the most egregious stories across six categories: politics, sports, health, entertainment, conspiracy and Gran Foolitzer—the only category to be chosen by the public.

To promote the awards, Leo Burnett Tailor Made prepared a two-stage campaign, first announcing the awards and then revealing the winners. The campaign spans online, OOH, promotional films, and the awards ceremony itself.

The voting period began on Jan. 15, with winners announced in early February. Winners will receive actual awards from The Foolitzer Prizes, medal coins with the inscription “Worst Fake News of the Year 2018” with the E-farsas logo.

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