Exactly 23 years after Enron filed for bankruptcy, a group claiming to have revived the company announced its return in an apparent parody.
“Enron” posted a video on social media announcing, “We’re back. Can we talk?” The video included several generic scenes and touted Enron’s return.
The reestablished company also posted a press release full of generic buzzwords and hinting at a possible cryptocurrency future.
“With a bold new vision, Enron will leverage cutting-edge technology, human ingenuity, and the spirit of adaptation to address the critical challenges of energy, sustainability, accessibility and affordability,” the release stated.
A banner touting Enron as “The World’s Leading Company” ran across the bottom of the site and on social media platforms.
However, a “terms of use” section on the Enron site revealed that the whole thing was likely a big, well-designed joke.
“The information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only,” it read.
Enron’s trademarked logo was registered in May to a company that is tied to the satirical conspiracy theorists at “Birds Aren’t Real,” according to the Houston Chronicle. The people at “Birds Aren’t Real” have shown significant skill and experience with leaning very far into a joke.
Enron filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 2, 2001, in one of the largest and most blatant fraud cases in American history. The company’s chairman, Kenneth Lay, died in 2006 after he was convicted on 10 counts of fraud but before he could be sentenced.
