This hoax reveal was made to look like it came from Apple TV+
Earlier this week, the internet lit up with reports of a mental health program for employees to manage conflicting emotions that arise when profiting from dirty industries. The Many Happy Returns™ Climate Adaptation Suite apparently includes a supplement called Dissonex™ designed to “sever neuronal connections in the brain’s guilt centers.”
The satirical program offers tools like a Sustainability Hotline where mental health professionals help investors squash moral dilemmas and avoid acting against their financial self-interest, and a “mutual aid” community where investors can support each other to remain in the market to weather any storm.
But in reality, there is no such program. The announcement was in fact a guerrilla marketing stunt by Apple TV+ promoting the second season of the groundbreaking psychological thriller series "Severance." The show follows Mark (Adam Scott), an employee of Lumon Industries who agrees to a "severance" program in which his non-work memories are separated from his work memories to make life easier.
“‘Severance’ takes place in the near-future, but today’s employees face similar challenges to reconcile their work selves with their ‘concerned citizen’ selves, recognizing the environmentally questionable impacts of the companies they work for. So we decided that they could use a ‘Severance’-style solution,” said Carina Matthews, Vice President of Communications. “We hope Vanguard finds this stunt all in good fun. We could have made up a company, but Vanguard manages over $4 billion for Apple employees in the U.S., and many of us have been pushing for them to offer better funds that screen out fossil fuels.”
"Severance" stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette. Season 2 will premiere later this year only on Apple TV+.