A Samsung smart fridge ad displaying the message “We’re sorry we upset you, Carol” frightened a woman with schizophrenia, leading her to admit herself to a hospital.
Doctors kept her under observation for two days before discovering the message was actually part of an Apple TV+ show promotion.
The incident raises concerns about ads on smart home devices; Samsung has now added an option to turn off promotional content on its refrigerators.
Smart home devices are becoming more common, but they can sometimes have unexpected consequences. One such incident happened with Carol, a woman with schizophrenia. She recently had a scary experience with her Samsung smart fridge when she saw an ad saying, “We’re sorry we upset you, Carol,” and believed someone was sending her secret messages. Terrified, she admitted herself to a hospital, where doctors kept her under observation for two days. It was later found that the ad was just promoting a new Apple TV+ show. Although the ad was harmless for most, this incident shows how technology in everyday objects can trigger fear, especially for those with mental health conditions.
SurveyA Samsung ad sends a woman to hospital
Earlier this year, Samsung began showing advertisements on the screens of its smart refrigerators. For most people, this would seem harmless, just another way companies try to catch attention. But for one woman living with schizophrenia, one of these ads caused a frightening experience. A couple of months after the feature started, an ad suddenly appeared on Carol’s fridge screen.
The screen of her Samsung smart refrigerator displayed a bright yellow background with the words, “We’re sorry we upset you, Carol.” Surprisingly, the woman’s name is also Carol, and because of her mental health condition and a history of psychotic episodes, she interpreted the message as something personal, believing that someone might be trying to send her secret messages through the fridge.
Feeling very scared and unsure of what was happening, she decided to check herself into a hospital. There, doctors kept her under observation for two days and adjusted her medications to help her feel safe again.
Later, her sibling discovered the same advertisement online, on Facebook. It turned out to be a normal commercial for a new show called Pluribus on Apple TV+. In the show, the main character is named Carol, which explained the wording in the ad. While most viewers would see nothing alarming about this, for the woman, the message triggered fear because she did not realise her fridge was capable of displaying advertisements.
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How to turn off ads on a Samsung refrigerator
Samsung has recently added an option to turn off ads on its smart refrigerators. If you own one and want to avoid such surprises, you can follow these steps:
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- Open the settings menu on your fridge screen.
- Look for the Privacy or Personalised Services section.
- Turn off the Promotions or Marketing content option.
- Restart the fridge screen if needed so the changes can be applied.
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Bhaskar Sharma
Bhaskar is a senior copy editor at Digit India, where he simplifies complex tech topics across iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and emerging consumer tech. His work has appeared in iGeeksBlog, GuidingTech, and other publications, and he previously served as an assistant editor at TechBloat and TechReloaded. A B.Tech graduate and full-time tech writer, he is known for clear, practical guides and explainers. View Full Profile
