How Stake was advertised in X through a massive butthurt

This is a continuation of the series about viral marketing by Stake. Last time, it was about how they managed to become a crypto giant and buy out streamers. Today we will tell you how the brand terrorized users of the social network X for six months with the help of formally "native" advertising through the Community Notes system, and even Elon Musk could not stop it in time.

What is Community Notes?

To begin with, it is worth explaining. Community Notes is a mechanism in X that allows users to leave explanations and comments on posts to combat misinformation. But it was this tool that unexpectedly became a weapon for Stake's viral campaign.

Campaign Launch

It all started in August 2024. In X recommendations, pictures and short videos with a neat Stake logo suddenly began to pop up. Casinos began to be advertised by "charged" accounts with a paid subscription, which X algorithms display above the rest.

The first case was the FearedBuck account. Initially, it looked like a fan page of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball club: memes, news, local jokes. But at some point, the content changed — posts with Stake branding poured into the feed.

Techniques and baiting

The format was simple and ingenious: each post provoked a reaction. These could be memes with captions like "Why are you crying, you're a man," or controversial takes, such as that Mbappe was stronger at 18 than at 25.

And here the main nuance came in: almost all posts received Community Note with a postscript that it was an advertisement for the illegal Stake casino in the United States. But instead of removing them from the search results, the algorithms only accelerated the coverage. People in the comments argued, laughed, complained — and the posts flew to the top of the recommendations.

Musk's reaction

Very quickly, Stake's ads filled X. In fact, it was seen by almost every active user of the social network. The massive butthurt reached Elon Musk - he personally threatened Stake with sanctions and banned the most active accounts. But memes from Community Notes continued to appear, and until March 2025, the situation remained wild.

Campaign results

As a result, advertising really made Stake as recognisable as possible in X, but the attention of regulators to the brand has also increased. After a while, the next scandal broke out - with the participation of Bonnie Blue, which everyone already knows about.

We can say that the case with Community Notes went viral and successful in terms of coverage, but in terms of Stake's reputation in the Tier-1 markets, it is more of a toxic signal.