Sony 'mistakenly' uploads a new film to YouTube
The film was online for hours before it was removed. Some commentators believe it was a publicity stunt on Sony's part.
by Gareth on 4th July 2018
Despite seemingly only intending to upload a trailer, Sony Pictures Entertainment uploaded the full version of a new film, Khali the Killer, to its official YouTube channel.
The mistake prompted a viral thread to appear on Reddit which, at the time of writing, has amassed 31,000 upvotes. The video was live on YouTube for a number of hours before it was removed by Sony personnel.
Despite being given a free pass to watch the film, in standard Reddit fashion many commentators didn't hold back from voicing their true opinions on plot lines and CGI.
"If only that movie was worth watching even when free", said one commentator.
Another commentator, who garnered 208 upvotes, stated, "this isn't a big expensive mistake, that's for sure. This movie looks like it has about $3 of set budget. 0$ of CG. Let's not even talk about famous actors that Sony paid for."
Many commentators have also suggested it could have been a "PR stunt" on Sony's part. The film lasts for one hour and 30 minutes and it was originally published to DVD in 2017, however it wasn't slated for full theatrical release until later this year.
It's also unclear how the video ended up on YouTube. Owing to it taking significantly more time to upload a full length film than a trailer, it's difficult to imagine Sony personnel could have simply uploaded the wrong file.
Despite the publicity generated around the film's distribution, Sony hasn't released any official statement explaining how the film ended up on the video sharing platform.
It's also not the first time Sony has faced controversy over its handling of digital technologies. Back in 2014, a group called "Guardians of Peace" (GOP) accessed personal data including names, email addresses, salaries, emails between employees, and more, from Sony's servers.
After GOP acquired the data, it threatened terrorist attacks and demanded that Sony withhold from distributing a new satirical film about North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.
US intelligence officials subsequently claimed the hack originated from North Korea.