Viral World Cup Tourist Food Videos Misled Millions, Including 1 Posted by New Jersey
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 18
Viral World Cup Tourist Food Videos Misled Millions, Including 1 Posted by New Jersey
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 18
Summary
Millions of views went to videos framed as World Cup visitors discovering American food, but a New York Times review found several featured actors, personas or people nowhere near the tournament.
Daniel Tooke, shown marveling at a New Jersey chicken parm hero, actually ate it in April and was back in Norwich weeks before the World Cup opened on June 11.
Fabio Farati’s widely shared “Italian tourist” reacting to free Coke refills was a comic character from a video first posted last year, part of a series he has made since 2018.
Nobunaga, presented online as a Japanese traveler praising endless chips and salsa, is also a pseudonymous character and was not heading to World Cup matches.
The trope spread far enough that New Jersey’s governor and the state’s official account retweeted one of the clips, showing how easily the tournament’s tourism buzz amplified misleading content.