Hype How scammers, grifters, and con artists are taking over the internet--and why we're following

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.

One shouldn't believe everything they see on social media, admonishes this scattershot exposé of online deception. Vice journalist Bluestone investigates impresario--con man Billy McFarland's infamous 2017 Fyre Festival, which was hyped as a glamorous music festival in a Bahamian island paradise but ended up being a rain-soaked gathering at a gravel pit. McFarland had spent millions on parties for himself and on social media personalities who swayed followers to buy tickets to the nonevent, and later pleaded guilty to defrauding his investors. Alongside her reporting on the Fyre debacle, Bluestone explores the economy of influencers who leverage pseudo-relationships with followers into hidden marketing deals with the brands showcased in their feeds, taking potshots along the way at Tesla founder Elon Musk, WeWork founder Adam Neumann, and, inevitably, Donald Trump. Bluestone offers some entertaining case studies of internet frauds, but her theorizing of it all as a symptom of "a post-truth world" feels overblown and the narrative can bog down in repetitive, semi-articulate interviews. (" 'That's one of the best explanations I've ever heard,' gushes one influencer to Bluestone about her question; 'It makes me laugh, because the way that you--I've never heard anyone explain it as well as you did.' ") The result is a baggy, rambling tour of internet fakery that itself feels somewhat overhyped. (Apr.)