Marketing faces challenges in the communication process while attempting to persuade the consumer, as external stimuli may influence the target consumer's response, and in the digital age, audiences choose how to receive messages, even if they opt to do so. Counter marketing, the “dark side”, involves social engineering and should be seen as a new kind of massive manipulation, as fake reviews, on digital media, try to influence the perception of a product during the purchasing process, as consumers rely on these opinions. We conducted a cross-platform (TikTok, Reddit, Apple Support Community, Google: Trends & Finance) study to understand if counter marketing action could affect iPhone 15 and Apple’s perception after the device lineup launch on September, 2023.