Hype

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 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, reporter Gabrielle Bluestone pulls back the curtain on the manipulation game behind the never-ending scam season--and how we as consumers can stop getting played. "The most fun, most outrageous, and--most of all--most true book of the year." --Olivia Nuzzi, author and Washington correspondent, New York magazine "A deep dive into the depressing world of grifters, bullsh*t artists, plagiarists and long con experts turbocharged by the Internet." --Anna Merlan, author of Republic of Lies