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Title details for Hype by Gabrielle Bluestone - Available

Hype

How Scammers, Grifters, and Con Artists Are Taking Over the Internet—and Why We're Following

by Gabrielle Bluestone
ebook
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2 of 2 copies available
"Hype is the best kind of nonfiction: juicy, sharp, savage and wildly entertaining, with a celebrity behaving badly on every page. What more could you want?" -Cat Marnell, New York Times-bestselling author of How to Murder Your Life
From former Vice journalist and executive producer of hit Netflix documentary Fyre comes an eye-opening look at the con artists, grifters and snake oil salesmen of the digital age—and why we can't stop falling for them.
We live in an age where scams are the new normal. A charismatic entrepreneur sells thousands of tickets to 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, former 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. A cultural examination that is as revelatory as it is relevant, Hype pulls back the curtain on the manipulation game behind the never-ending scam season—and how we as consumers can stop getting played.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 6, 2021

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781488059124

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781488059124
      • File size: 591 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      March 15, 2021
      It's a post-truth world; we're just living in it. Journalist and producer Bluestone makes a convincing argument that scamming has reached a high point in the last five years, with a surge in narcissism and valuing emotions over facts compounded by the rise of social media influencers. Bluestone's coverage of the Fyre Festival debacle of 2016 gave her a backstage pass to the mayhem, and here she uses the story of serial scammer Billy McFarland (of Fyre and Magnises credit card infamy) to frame the recent past. From would-be influencers renting private jets on the ground and buying second-hand luxury-brand shopping bags to emulate fabulous hauls, to the crash-and-burn story of faux entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos--is everyone just faking it? While grifters have always existed, Bluestone points out that today's influencers are the new way to "launder" schemes into something more palatable to the masses. If you've ever been tempted to buy a Juicero or enroll in one of Caroline Calloway's "workshops," Bluestone's premise will resonate. Pairs nicely with Tori Telfer's Confident Women (2021) or Rachel DeLoache Williams' My Friend Anna (2019). HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Scams are hot right now, and Bluestone covers the hottest here; expect media coverage and patron interest.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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