A woman was sent to the hospital and needed her medications adjusted after seeing an ad for the Apple TV show Pluribus on her Samsung smart fridge, one Reddit user claims.
In a viral Reddit post also shared to X, user Fun-Blueberry-2147 claims to have received a phone call from their sister claiming that someone was attempting to communicate with her through her fridge. She then booked a taxi to the hospital where she was under monitoring for two days.
After their sister got home, the user claimed to see a photo of an ad for Pluribus on a smart fridge reading, “We’re sorry we upset you, Carol.” The Reddit user says their sister confirmed that this was what she saw on the fridge.
Woman named Carol thought she was having a psychotic episode because her fridge showed her a Pluribus ad pic.twitter.com/mjIP1tmUmB
— Brooks Otterlake (@i_zzzzzz) December 6, 2025
The sister has schizophrenia and was already on antipsychotic medications, the poster claimed. They added that their sister has already had hospitalized for psychotic episodes in the past.
The Reddit user posted to r/LegalAdviceUK to ask if it is legal for such ads to be shown on refrigerators in the U.K. While most of the commenters state their belief that the advertisement is legal, several X users are taking the opportunity to debate whether the blame lies on Samsung, Apple or the tech industry at large for pushing advertising in invasive places such as home appliances.
Apple doesn’t choose where this ad will be shown. They just buy ad spece from Samsung, so here Samsung is to blame. And it was Samsung idea to show ads on smart devices you paid for – I remember they did it years ago with smart tv and continued that trend even despite customers…
— Jerzy Bartoszewicz (@AntaresPL) December 6, 2025
Pluribus is the latest hit Apple TV show produced by Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The show follows a miserable woman named Carol who must save the world from happiness. The show has received critical acclaim and has been noted for its creepy dystopian imagery.
