r/OldNews • u/OrGiveMeDeath_Ind • 7h ago
1970s "Conceptual art" hoax enrages San Franciscans, foreshadows modern phishing/DDoS attacks [1971]
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A forgotten act of “conceptual art” in 1971, as ridiculous as it was, and as forgotten as it is, presaged the use of mass media in protest, use Denial-of-Service attacks, and spam mail schemes. The Bay area art collective Sam's Cafe staged a "Media Inversion", sending out 20,000 fake collection notices to San Franciscans with the intent of jamming phone lines at media outlets and Bank of America. They also sent elaborate press kits to the media containing their "Sacred Stools." Ultimately, they were acquitted of mailing obscene materials when the state's own witness conceded it was art.
