posted a photo on its Twitter account, sourced from Reddit, allegedly showing an overhead view of a Brazilian rainforest with the message "C'MON ENGLAND PP" spelled out by the former locations of trees that had been cut down. Following major criticisms over the advert from users, it was revealed on 8 June 2014 that the images were fake, and part of a campaign by Paddy Power to promote its anti-deforestation charity effort. The company stated that "we knew we’d drop off a fair few Christmas card lists yesterday, but we couldn’t resist a bit of fake twitter mischief to highlight an important issue to football fans as our World Cup warm up. At least it gave people something to get animated about during last night’s England–Honduras bore fest." In July 2014, Paddy Power was criticised by the Information Commissioner's Office for its response to an incident in 2010, where a hacker was able to obtain personal information of more than 649,000 people from its website. The data included addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and security questions and answers. Paddy Power did not inform the Information Commissioner's Office until four years later. In September 2017, Paddy Power offered odds on a dead footballer, Ugo Ehiogu, to become the new manager of Birmingham City F.C. The company said it had made an error. For the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Paddy Power was criticised for its controversial polar bear graffiti stunt, with a Russian polar bear being emblazoned with an England flag. Paddy Power claimed the stunt was to raise awareness of the plight of polar bears in the Russian Arctic. In October 2018, Paddy Power Betfair received a £2.2 million fine from the UK Gambling Commission, after an investigation revealed that the gaming giant broke the commission's rules regarding social responsibility and anti-money laundering. In December 2018, Paddy Power and William Hill faced further criticism after allegations that they allowed a gambling addict to wager thousands of pounds in stolen cash. Victims of the theft seek £965,000 from Paddy Power that has not been compensated after the previous fine from October of that year. References External links Corporate website Bookmakers Gambling companies of Ireland Gambling companies of the Channel Islands Online poker companies Online gambling companies of Ireland Gambling companies established in 1988 Companies based in Dublin (city) Irish companies established in 1988 2016 mergers and acquisitions