I work in a literary agency and honestly, I’m not surprised! Celebrity memoirs sell, and to be honest, we don’t do a ton of vetting or research on authors-we all have a lot of authors, and we do cursory checks on the person (what’s their brand? Are they marketable? Do people seem interested in their content? How loyal are their followers?), but y’all have to remember that her content then looked way different and for all intents and purposes, she seemed legit. It’s one thing to dupe a bunch of people on IG, but conning a well known lit agent by basically storming into his office and lying through your teeth is, IMO, so much more interesting because it says so much about her privilege and utter disregard for recognizing it.

It was well written and concise and I think focused on the right things to make her fit into the overall narrative - I say that not having read the whole book yet but it’s pretty obvious you’d have to leave out some multitudes (she contains so many)Įdit (because I’ve had a few hours to digest this now): I wanted to know more about Byrd! He’s very briefly quoted saying he never would have worked with Carp if he knew she’s bought followers, but I’m just so fascinated by how she also scammed him. I just bought it to read the Caroline chapter (chapter 6 if you’re wondering!) and I’ll probably finish the rest at some point. 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.Love that none of us would pay $5 for the Ion pod but we’re all down with $14 for this book. 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?ĭrawing 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. Reviewers and celebrities flock to London's top-rated restaurant that's little more than a backyard shed. Respected investors pour millions into a start-up centered around fake blood tests. A charismatic entrepreneur sells thousands of tickets to a festival that never happened. We live in an age where scams are the new normal. What more could you want?' -Cat Marnell, New York Times- bestselling author of How to Murder Your Lifeįrom 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. 'Hype is the best kind of nonfiction: juicy, sharp, savage and wildly entertaining, with a celebrity behaving badly on every page.

Hype by gabrielle bluestone