MashTalk: Did Burger King cross the line with its Google Home stunt?

On this week's MashTalk, we chat about how Burger King briefly hijacked Google Homes, Xbox Scorpio, and how Facebook just keeps crushing it.
 By 
Raymond Wong
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"Okay Google, what is the Whopper burger?"

Burger King decided to run a 15-second TV ad that posed that question, which would then remotely trigger peoples' Google Homes to read out loud an edited Wikipedia entry describing what's inside of a Whopper.

Needless to say, Google Home users were pissed at the invasiveness of the marketing stunt, and Google moved quickly to block the phrase. But did Burger King really screw up big time and cross the line, or should we expect more brands to start "hijacking" our smart speakers (3:04)?

Tech Editor Pete Pachal, Chief Correspondent Lance Ulanoff, Senior Tech Correspondent Raymond Wong, and Assistant Tech Editor Louise Matsakis discuss the topic on this week's MashTalk podcast.

Next, Games Editor Tina Amini joins to give us all the details on Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Project Scorpio console (11:36), slated for a proper reveal (including what it'll look like) at E3 in June. Designed for 4K setups, Scorpio boasts some impressive specs, but will it be enough to win back Xbox gamers who defected to #TeamPlayStation4 after the rough Xbox One launch?

Closing out this week's MashTalk, ahead of next week's F8 developer conference, we weigh in on how Facebook continues to crush it on all of its platforms (24:04). Facebook Messenger's now got 1.2 billion monthly active users. Meanwhile, Instagram Stories keeps kicking Snapchat's ass; the feature, which was added last year, now sees 200 million daily active users. That's more daily active users than Snapchat's 158 million daily active users that use its entire app. Is Snapchat doomed?

And, as always, don't forget to leave your questions and comments by tweeting @Mash_Talk with the #MashTalk hashtag. We welcome all feedback.

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Raymond Wong

Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.

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