Chapter 267: Chapter 267: Shifting the Narrative

[Do you guys even know how to filter the information you read? Stupid as cows.]

[Their company’s official news is already up, yet you people do not know how to read.]

[So funny, did Caldwell Empire hire a psychic? To think they posted their article exactly one minute before these clickbait tabloids.]

[The point is that even posting early could not suppress these cows being led by the nose.]

Accompanying these comments, which were full of irony directed back at the crowd, was a series of links leading straight to the latest post on the official account of Caldwell Empire.

Within that public post, high-quality, crystal-clear photographs were released to serve as evidence. These included individual shots full of commercial networking between Ethan Caldwell and Harrison Thornton, panoramic shots of a luxurious and crowded banquet table, and even several pictures capturing the important figures surrounding them.

Completely different from the blurry, manipulative candid angles used by the media, these photographs were incredibly upright and aboveboard.

The accompanying text was a polite and sincere expression of gratitude for the magnificent reception hosted by Harrison Thornton, as well as a statement of hope that Caldwell Empire and the conglomerate of this wealthy tycoon could soon reach a cooperative agreement in the future. The wording was extremely formal and standard, completely ignoring the nonsensical rumors currently swarming outside.

Beneath that official post, immediately striking the viewers’ eyes was a reply comment from the verified personal account of Harrison Thornton himself. The content of the comment was roughly about looking forward immensely to the cooperation between the two sides, while also very politely thanking Ethan Caldwell for stepping in just in time to help his daughter-in-law during the banquet.

At this very moment, Harrison Thornton’s comment was also swiftly screenshot by countless people, then simultaneously posted and spread across all the exposing threads on the forums, creating a spectacular reversal of public opinion.

[Information update for those who do not know, Harrison Thornton, the billionaire tycoon of Kensington city.]

[Kensington city might not be as developed as Saint Lawrence City, but the economy resting in Harrison Thornton’s hands is on par with the entire economy of Saint Lawrence City, you wild ducks. Do you really think Harrison Thornton’s daughter is in any way inferior to Ethan Caldwell, to the point that she needs to cling to Ethan Caldwell?]

[Wait, so the person in that photo is Harrison Thornton’s daughter?]

[What are you talking about, man! Harrison Thornton already said it was his daughter-in-law, right?]

[Then why did that other guy comment saying Harrison Thornton’s daughter is not inferior to Ethan Caldwell? What does that mean? If you are going to spread knowledge, please explain it fully, for heaven’s sake!]

[Update, the person in that photo is Harrison Thornton’s daughter-in-law, the girlfriend of Harrison Thornton’s daughter. Her name is Thea Lockwood, she is someone in the entertainment industry, specifically a model and a voice actress. Although the two of them are not married yet, she has already been acknowledged by Harrison Thornton, considered as a daughter-in-law in the family.]

[Holy crap, this wealthy family drama is so thrilling.]

[So Ethan Caldwell and Thea Lockwood’s interaction was purely offering help?]

[Did you guys not look closely at the photo? That posture looked exactly like Thea Lockwood tripping and falling, so Ethan Caldwell just caught her. The paparazzi deliberately cropped the image. If they posted the full unedited picture now, you might even see Thea Lockwood twisting her ankle.]

[I just went to search it up, Harrison Thornton’s family is insanely rich! Harrison Thornton’s daughter is insanely beautiful! Damn, this couple looks insanely good together! How did I not know about this before?]

[Because you only care about looking at handsome men. If Ethan Caldwell or Julian Sterling had no looks, would you even bother glancing at them?]

[Nonsense! I admire beautiful women too, you know? As long as they are beautiful, I will admire them all!]

Helen Lloyd looked at the netizens’ reactions, seeing the trend gradually shifting toward a discussion debating which couple between Ethan Caldwell and Julian Sterling, and Gemma Thornton, Harrison Thornton’s daughter, alongside Thea Lockwood looked better together, and which one seemed more affectionate, and she was left utterly speechless.

Initially, Ethan Caldwell had merely instructed her to upload the photos and contact Harrison Thornton’s media relations team to coordinate. The original plan was simply to guide public opinion in the direction of slapping the media’s faces and correcting the false information.

Who would have expected that Julian Sterling, after listening to the media plan, would tell her to make a slight adjustment, instructing her to hold off on rushing to point out the press’s mistakes first. He believed that if they just directly confronted them, those who were hot-bloodedly hurling insults would only try harder to argue stubbornly in order to defend their own viewpoints.

Instead of doing that, Julian Sterling proposed a divergent move for the media team, steering public opinion toward the couple Gemma Thornton and Thea Lockwood.

He demanded that the social media posts must shift attention elsewhere, and must deliberately emphasize how good they looked together, how Gemma Thornton, a young lady born into luxury, gently pampered her girlfriend Thea Lockwood.

Even under his direction, the communications department spared no effort in drafting an entire script heavily imbued with the flavor of web novels. Thea Lockwood was the poor model suppressed in the entertainment industry, who accidentally caught the eye of her wealthy patron Gemma Thornton and then became a carefully protected canary. They released trivial yet adorable details about the process of how the two women met. Generally speaking, there were all sorts of public opinion manipulation, with true and false information chaotically intertwined, creating a misdirection effect that was even better than throwing a smoke screen.

Yet… this method, which seemed to deviate from the main focus, actually managed to guide public opinion in a spectacular manner.

In the beginning, both Ethan Caldwell and Helen Lloyd had predicted that perhaps the previous rigid correction post would not have too significant of an effect in completely extinguishing the raging fire of the crowd’s anger.

Naturally, it could help create an immediate slapping the media’s face effect, proving the CEO’s innocence. But it only had an awakening effect on those who inherently understood reason and were willing to think logically.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep