We live in an age where scams are the new normal. A charismatic entrepreneur sells thousands of tickets for a festival that never happened. Respected investors pour millions into a start-up centered around fake blood tests. Reviewers and celebrities flock to London’s top-rated restaurant that’s little more than a backyard shed. These unsettling stories of today’s viral grifters have risen to fame and hit the front-page headlines, yet the curious conundrum remains – why do these scams happen?
Drawing from scientific research, marketing campaigns, and exclusive documents and interviews, Vice reporter Gabrielle Bluestone delves into the irresistible hype that fuels our social media ecosystem, whether it’s from the trusted influencers that peddled Fyre or the consumer reviews that sold Juicero. Her new book is "Hype: How Scammers, Grifters, and Con Artists Are Taking Over the Internet and Why We're Following" that pulls back the curtain on the manipulation game behind the never-ending scam season – and how we as consumers can stop getting played.
Gabrielle Bluestone is a journalist and Emmy-nominated producer of Netflix’s “Fyre”.
