Goats :D

The ultimate conformitygate promotional timeline analysis

Edits in green and the word plant(s)

Disclaimer: This is a post in a series of collaborative posts that provides evidence that the next piece of Stranger Things content is going to be an interactive film using Episode 2 to 8 as the base. #bandersnatchgate

Contributors: @thebestofmyrmidons @fixthehyper @whispering-goat @vecnapilled @power-kinesis @nuffit @arubikhandy0707

An exciting revelation has been made by a group of conformitygate theorists. At the center lies #copyrightgate. Check out the thorough and well-substantiated post by @thebestofmyrmidons . I present a sypnosis:

The type of delay of copyright registration by Netflix that has been witnessed for Episode 2 - Episode 8 of Stranger Things Season 5 has only happened for interactive shows and movies.

Posts on this topic from me:

1. How promo leading up to "Bandersnatch" and "Kimmy vs the Reverend" followed the same patterns, just on a smaller scale.

2. The Netflix and DONTNOD 2025 collaboration and the Life is Strange parallels hiding in plain sight.

3. The ultimate conformitygate promotional timeline analysis

My final post on the promotional timeline and my last theory post on conformitygate (CG). It's here. Let's walk through the dates one last time. I leave out all the minor promotions, but realize we did have lots of social media buzz, Jimmy Fallon Show and other cast interviews and hints for CG almost daily since Jan 1 (2026), even though Stranger Things is supposedly "over". I recently realized that every 5/6 days we did not just get major promotional drops, but also there was a purposeful cycle of positive and negative press that played with the emotions of the fandom. That was completely calculated and predetermined by the Stranger Things social media team. Edit: I forgot to mention why. If you read Post 1, it will dawn on you that the current promotional timeline is very similar to what happened the two months leading up to Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. CG is just the new, improved and far crazier version of that. Plants also changed behavior cyclically before, during and after promo drops, but that's neither here nor there.

Dec 25: Stranger Things 5 Vol 2 drops

(negative reaction after E7, review bombing IMDB, change.org petition)

Dec 26: birth of cutgate, a major clue for conformitygate (CG), beginning of the Stranger Things ARG

(positive anticipation of the finale)

Jan 1: The finale drops 💥 birth of #conformitygate

(extreme negative crashout)

People started theorizing about CG, it spread on social media, mainstream media reported on it. People were speculating about a Jan 7 date.

Jan 6: Jamie Campbell Bower posts a video on instagram, counting up from 1 to 12, saying "It's Time".

(positive anticipation of new release)

Jan 7: The Netflix crash

(extreme negative crashout)

Here, I entered the scene, most fans left the CG bus at this point.

(positive anticipation of "documentary fakeout")

Jan 12: The documentary drops 💣

(negative crashout)

The remaining fans realize the documentary is satire. I prove that CG is real with some logic and probability:

(positive anticipation for announcement at SNL)

Jan 17: Finn's SNL performance

(negative crashout from parasocial freaks)

(positive responses from CG theorists)

At this point, I created my promotional timeline, I predicted the following pattern based on the previous dates and my little research on the life span of news stories:

Jan 23: The YouTube Quiz ✅

(neutral response, loss of interest)

Now with bandersnatchgate, we know this was indeed a major drop, because the questions and answers are a tutorial or guide for the interactive puzzle that's to come.

Jan 28: Purposeful negative reporting on Nikki Baxter ✅

(negative reaction)

(positive anticipation of CG clues)

Feb 2: Tales from '85 trailer drops ✅

(negative reaction)

Many speculations about a Super Bowl announcement started popping up during this time. This was obviously to generate hype again. Reminiscent of Jan 1 - 6 period. Recycling strategy.

Feb 8: The Super Bowl hell ✅

(extreme negative crashout)

Feb 9: ...

Feb 10: The First Shadow ProShot announcement ❓

(positive hype)

This is where I noticed that two big promo events occurred in the span of two days. One very negative, one pretty positive. I was confused. Did my promo timeline fail me? I gave two routes, because I was expecting the 5/6 days cycle to resume.

Now, I think I noticed the beginning of a new phase of promotion in the Stranger Things ARG: rapid fire! The hints and clues have become more cryptic, information and ragebait from unverified sources has increased, it is brazenly spread by plants and the rest of the social+mainstream media apparatus. These promo drops mostly illicit a negative response or create a state of confusion.

Feb 11: Caleb McLaughlin commented on CG in a negative way

Feb 12: Empire Magazine published an item on Tales from '85 with CG clues.

(confusion)

Feb 13: Trailer for Something very bad is going to happen ✅

Edit: The movie GOAT, starring Caleb McLaughlin, and the movie Cold Storage, starring Joe Keery, came out on this day. Both of them had CG clues and some ST nods, according to @vanillajunmyeon . Confirm yourself though :)

This one is technically not Stranger Things related, but as a Duffer Brothers production, it still serves its purpose of keeping the attention on the show.

Small promo point: Is this article below made to put SNL and the Duffer Brothers in a bad light? Why would Finn Wolfhard need to notify Daniel Radcliffe himself?

https://people.com/daniel-radcliffe-reveals-finn-wolfhard-gave-him-a-heads-up-about-the-snl-skit-11906583

(confusion. Edit: probably meant as positive)

Feb 14: AI video "fixes" Stranger Things ending

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/02/14/bad-game-of-thrones-stranger-things-endings-are-being-remade-convincingly-poorly-with-ai/

Disappointment about no byler on Valentine's Day.

(ridiculously negative)

Feb 15: "The Duffer Brothers Birthday Bash'

(confusion)

Feb 16: More Nikki Baxter Bullshit (see below), unverified reporting on The First Shadow changes (see above)

(confusion)

Feb 17: @HawkinsHappenin starts vagueposting about Feb 20 again and shared multiple live streams from YouTuber q. One is still running (Feb 18/19) and has (morse) code messages related to CG. Information+screenshots from @arubikhandy0707 , @avbyler and @livinglikelarries , they'll probably want to share full details of their findings, so I am not giving spoilers :)

(positive anticipation for...?)

Feb 18: (negative, misdirect, attempt to make people lose hope) Screenshot by @biigiiiii

There has been so much more weirdness happening in between Feb 10-18, even more unsubstantiated rumors on Nikki Baxter from unverified Twitter accounts I haven't reported on, plus slither.io and @HawkinsHappenin conversing in code...? Not touching that, but feel free to attempt some code cracking.

Feb 19: ...

Edit: More Randy Havens ragebait

Feb 20: ⏰⌚ ✅

Notice how Feb 20 was in both my promotional timeline routes btw. Feb 20 will be the end of this phase of the Stranger Things ARG. Why?

- CG is real. Interactive content is coming. #bandersnatchgate

- It's been two months and attention span is dwindling, even among the strongest CG bus drivers

- Any real promo for Stranger Things has been shared by now: the documentary, interviews with producers and cast, trailer for Tales from '85 and the announcement of The First Shadow proshot.

- CG clues have become more erratic, nonsensical and outrageously unverified, with a focus on Nikki Baxter. There is so much, in particular on Twitter, it's hard to keep up!

- @HawkinsHappenin is putting his yearslong reputation as a trusted plant on the line by claiming something is happening on Feb 20, multiple times! Check the date of the tweet below, he keeps bringing it up (also, playing into time shenanigans). You can check my posts on plants where I show he is one, but this Twitter account has a long history in the Stranger Things fandom and is undoubtedly connected to the Stranger Things social media team.

- Feb 20 does not only fall on the promotional timeline, it also should be positive promo, considering the pattern I have outlined above. We are coming out of a negative slump, and before all this we had a consistent postive-negative cycle.

- Feb 20 is the ONLY DATE that has actually been shared with us. All other dates were fan speculations. I'm talking about Jan 7, Jan 12, Jan 17, Feb 8, Feb 14, Feb 15, Feb 17. All of those were predicted by fans on hopium.

Do I think we will get new content on Feb 20? It's not... impossible? What I am pretty sure about is that we will get answers on that day, whatever they are.

If this date is a fakeout again, I won't understand the point of the Stranger Things ARG anymore. Why let a confirmed plant hint at a specific date and not make anything happen? Why have this very calculated promotional timeline for weeks on end and there be no payoff? Just to string people along? That seems needlessly cruel, a puzzle is supposed to be fun and solvable too.

Edit: It's not a puzzle, it's a social experiment.

Despite that bleak possibility existing, I stay optimistic. The optimism remains that made me and many others believe and ultimately prove the existence of CG.

I feel like the wait is almost over considering my and other people's analyses, but I can never be certain. Gg everyone, thank you all for the laughs, the crash-outs and the theorizing. Final 🫂 before the chaos ensues.