So apparently the situation is worse than I first realized, and Peroni posted actual authors names and fic titles. I don't really know how to navigate sponsors and journalists poking around the rpf. Because, they haven't bought into the fandom social contract we have, they don't follow the rules because they don't know them and don't really care.
I guess the best solution is again, to just ignore it, and to not reward this kind of thing. Even calling it out too much is just leading to attention for them and they might not see that as a bad thing.
This is a collab and a sponsor. They are doing this because they think that this will appeal to the audience they have outlined as large and valuable to them. If that audience rejects this kind of behavior by not engaging, that is the only real way I see to get them to back off.
They make it really clear in this article why they are doing it. The idea that fanfiction is a vital part of the connection fans have to the sport and therefore teams need to engage with it is not a good direction. I keep coming back to the idea that we need to make it clear that they are wrong about this. Doing this will not bring more engagement, it will not make fans happy, and their promotions will fall short of the numbers they envisioned.
The other thing is I guess fics that are so unmarketable in terms of content are probably safe
Final note: Do not go and comment on the authors fics that were named in this article, they probably have enough going on and the main reason we keep fandom in fandom spaces is so creators do not get put on blast to an audience they never intended to reach.
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