In a move that has left many scratching their heads, Enron, the energy company infamous for its massive accounting scandal in the early 2000s, has announced its return to the market. This time, however, the company is venturing into the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
But, perhaps not all is what it seems.
It appears that the domain has been taken over by pranksters.
A T-shirt manufacturing company has acquired the Enron trademark and appears to be marketing merchandise associated with the creator of the satirical conspiracy theory “Birds Aren’t Real”. Despite launching with an apparent press release, which was oddly just an image of a press release, digging into the website’s terms and conditions shows that the owners are protecting themselves with reference to “parody”.
These terms state, “THE INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE IS FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTED PARODY, REPRESENTS PERFORMANCE ART, AND IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY”.
Records show the domain was updated in November 2024, which indicates it has just been taken over by someone. Public records indicate that an Arkansas-based LLC, The College Company, purchased the Enron trademark for $275 in 2020.
Connor Gaydos, a co-founder of this company, collaborated with Peter McIndoe to create the satirical conspiracy theory “Birds Aren’t Real.” This theory humorously suggests that birds have been replaced by government-operated drones for surveillance purposes. The movement began as a joke and has evolved into a popular phenomenon among Gen Z, with merchandise sales contributing to its spread
So, no. Enron is not making a dramatic comeback. Instead, it seems like there’s nothing to this but a good old-fashioned prank.
Also, the video content on the supposed Enron website is exaggerated corporate nonsense, so I get the feeling this may be a bit of a social experiment.
