He wants you to start paying more attention to the amount of fraud taking place online. Buyer beware has never been more true than today.
This parody was inspired by an international news story that used a lot of tools and online hype to promote a seriously disappointing event for visitors.
The details behind this event will be sorted out, perhaps even by courts, but the truth is this kind of thing isn't new anymore and the scope of misrepresentation, and sometimes outright fraud, is growing fast online.
That's why Spencer and the Newsload team came together to produce this parody. We hope you enjoy it and take away its message of "buyer beware". Cops in every town are inundated by fraud these days, of every variety. So much so you're basically on your own when it comes to losing your time and money to liars. VERIFY EVERYTHING or assume it's a scam. Sad but true.
One type of fraud, not talked about enough yet, is rage-farmer fraud. Though many of you may not have heard of it yet, you have almost certainly seen its impact on the news, or even out your front window.
RAGE-FARMER FRAUD
Why would a man launch a lawsuit he knows he is going to lose? Harass a cop when he knows he’ll get arrested? Protest a hospital when he knows he’ll be hated? The answer is a new type of fraud - rage-farmer fraud.
Now that any controversy can be leveraged online into an influence account, any action that can get followers is suddenly worth doing. Why launch a lawsuit you know you’re going to lose, with all the expense and time that goes into it? The answer is, so that you can be the hero online fighting the man. Film yourself going into and out of court, then when you lose, talk about how the courts are rigged against you. All it requires is the ability to shamelessly lie - seen any of that around lately? -
So much of the crazy you see outside these days isn’t crazy at all, it’s entrepreneurship.
Why do it? Money. As I'll explain below there are huge benefits to building up a follower count that can be leveraged into promotional dollars. In short it's not just monetization through the platform, the real money is in gorilla marketing and sponsorships.
What's the fraud? Your time, data, emotional energy, even relationships. What would we say if Coke was tricking folks into promoting their cola by telling them that if they don't something horrible will happen to them and their family? That's what's happening - it's a cottage industry right now and sociopaths are getting richer doing it everyday. And now, with A.I. tools coming out, it's only going to get worse. Make sure you and your friends and family are aware.
To give you sense for how much money can be made through these online activities consider this small, but very true, example:
“My friend posts regularly in a Facebook group focused on camera gear and cinematography. He had a few posts take off and get between ten and fifteen thousand views. Soon afterward he was approached by a company that sells high-end studio lighting. He was offered over three thousand dollars of in-kind lighting if he’d make three posts talking up how much he loves their lights.” ~Bryan
HOW WE'RE TRYING TO HELP: THE NEWSLOAD BUSINESS MODEL
‘Funny’ flips the script on the rage farm business model, which is another reason why our business is desperately needed. Funny can be used to get followers and views as well, but where rage farming is detrimental to social cohesion, “funny farming” can bring us together. If you'd like to know more about how this works watch this short video and thank you for your interest!