Tired of the racist name and mascot of the National Football League's Washington Redskins, Native American advocates produced an elaborate hoax reporting that the Redskins had changed their name to the Redhawks.
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The online campaign, led by a group called Rising Hearts, created a Twitter account and five web pages made to resemble the real pages of The Washington Post, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report, as well as a website for the fictional team that bore the burgundy and gold of the Redskins with the new Redhawks logo.
The "fake news" included quotes from Redskins coach Coach Jay Gruden and team owner Daniel Snyder, as well as a number of fans, activists, politicians and others commenting on the fictitious name change.
In one fabricated quote, team owner Dan Snyder said the Redhawks are "a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride, and respect — the same values we know guide Native Americans, and which are embedded throughout their rich history as the original Americans."
A poll by the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at California State University, San Bernardino, found that 67 percent of Native Americans considered the name 'Redskins' to be racist.
"We created this action to show the NFL and the Washington Football franchise how easy, popular and powerful changing the name could be," Rebecca Nagle, of the Cherokee Nation, said in a news release that identified her as one of the organizers of the stunt.
"What we're asking for changes only four letters. Just four letters! Certainly, the harm that the mascot does to Native Americans outweighs the very, very minor changes the franchise would need to make."
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The fake websites fooled many, but they also included disclaimers identifying them as a parody that was neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the sites they were imitating.
"We are sorry for the disappointment and confusion many will feel learning that Snyder has not changed the name yet," a Rising Hearts press release said.
"The purpose of this action is to show that the need for a new mascot is real and immediate. This online campaign is one of many direct and confrontational tactics that we as Native people have to use to demand our human dignity."
ESPN and The Washington Post, however, failed to see the funny side. The media giants are reportedly exploring legal options to protect their respective intellectual properties.
The Redskins themselves have long opposed a name change, citing the fans' preference, but campaigners plan to continue piling on the pressure with a news conference in Washington on Thursday, and a pre-game rally on Sunday at FedEx Field.
"We need to see now how we can make a viral social-media campaign turn into a viral physical movement where people show up, put their time on the line, their bodies on the line to stand against something that's unjust," hoax co-organizer Sebastian Medina-Tayac told The Washington Post.
Regardless, the Redskins management insist the name will remain in use indefinitely.
"This morning, the Redskins organization was made aware of fraudulent websites about our team name," Tony Wyllie, the team's senior vice-president for communications, said in a statement. "The name of the team is the Washington Redskins and will remain that for the future."