Enron Has Been Relaunched as an Elaborate, Hilarious Prank to Save the Planet

There are few brand names with a more universally terrible reputation than Enron. The company famously went out of business in the early 2000s after it was discovered that the company had been engaged in massive amounts of accounting fraud.

As it turns out, though, Enron might not have been dead for good. A video now trending on social media suggests that the company is making a comeback, and many want to know whether the ignominious company's return is real or some sort of elaborate prank. Here's what we know.

The company's website, enron.com relaunched along with an official-looking video and a press release, all on the 23rd anniversary of the company's original bankruptcy filing. All of that made the relaunch feel very official, but that's not the case.

While it all looks pretty legit, the whole thing is an elaborate joke. The relaunch is courtesy of one of the guys who created "Birds aren't real," per USA Today, and the website's terms of service reveal that the website is a parody site.

Even so, you can still buy merch from the new Enron or sign up for their newsletter.

In the press release announcing their return, this new, fake Enron relied heavily on generic business speak but also suggested that it had a new mission driving its work in the 21st century: "solving the global energy crisis."

The company's new website includes stock footage, as well as a countdown clock that seems like it will conclude on Dec. 10.

The site also contains links to careers, as well as an employee portal. In a section titled "Our Values," the company spells out the acronym NICE, writing: "Success isn’t just about what we achieve, but how we treat others along the way — and it starts by being nice."

The teaser video also relies heavily on stock footage, and ends with a bunch of people of various stripes saying, "I am Enron." It's all a joke, but it's easy to see how you could get confused.

Part of the reason this parody is so effective is for the simple reason that Enron is famous for being a company that was destroyed by scandal. The energy company was seen as one of the most innovative in the United States and employed more than 20,000 people prior to its collapse.

That collapse came after it was revealed that Enron was grossly overstating its earnings, leading to financial harm for the company's employees and all those who had invested in it. Connor Gaydos, who was one of the co-creators of the "Birds aren't real" conspiracy theory, purchased the Enron trademark in 2020, according to CNN.

While it's still not totally clear what Connor has planned for the brand, it seems like a significant amount of time and money has gone into launching a full-fledged brand for whatever this is. Hopefully, the punchline to this joke is as good as the incredibly elaborate setup has been.