Get Rich or Lie Trying: Ambition and Deceit in the New Influencer Economy

by Symeon Brown

More than one fifth of children want to become influencers and it's easy to understand why. What if you could escape economic uncertainty by winning the internet's attention? What if you could turn the adoration of your social media followers into a lucrative livelihood?

But as Symeon Brown explores in this searing exposé, the reality is much murkier. From IRL streamers in LA to Brazilian butt lifts, from sex workers on OnlyFans to fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes, these are the incredible stories that lurk behind the filtered selfies and gleaming smiles.

Exposing the fraud, exploitation, bribery, and dishonesty at the core of the influencer model, Get Rich or Lie Trying asks if our digital rat race is costing us too much. Revealing a broken economy resembling a pyramid scheme, this incredible blend of reportage and analysis will captivate and horrify you in equal measure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Economics, Business, Technology, Social Media, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2022

Reviews

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.

I needed to know nothing more about this book's contents to be certain I was going to become invested in it after reading the tagline - "ambition and deceit in the new influencer economy."

The crazy and corrupt world of social media fame and the influencer status is a ceaselessly intriguing one and I will take any book - either fiction or non-fiction - that allows me uninterrupted access to it.

It is not something I have personally vied for but I can certainly see the allure, especially for younger generations, and the seemingly easy access to fame and wealth that it also affords. The 'like' button is the gateway drug to it all though. Symeon Brown explored many different avenues that online creators can take and I really appreciated the different topics covered within them. This did not hate for the sake of hating but felt like a very raw and honest account of all that is occurring in the new business that is selling our souls in tiny pixels.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Symeon Brown, and the publisher, Atlantic Books, for this opportunity.

[myo ⋆｡˚ ❀ * · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think that the blm part of this book was a bit harsh and even though it was researched well. this author is from the uk so i feel like they don’t really understand blm in the us, even though they are black they kinda look at it from a white mans perspective of thinking these people are using others for money. i’m not saying the uk doesn’t deal with black issues but it’s just not at the same as the us issues and i think that is what sets this author at a distance and honestly not qualified to even talk about this matter. i do think this book showed it’s biases at times and let it’s own opinions get in the way instead of educating people. this book touched on things like cancel culture, black fishing, toxic beauty standards, scammers etc. etc. i think this book was written well and as someone who wears fashion nova i think i’ll probably not anymore after reading how they treat their workers but also the fact that more than half their clothes probably have rat pee on it (OMFG??). this is a great story and i hope that the author does write more books, im interesting in learning more.

[BookOfCinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging and informative

I am always so interested in the influencer economy which is why I picked up this book. Having read So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed where the author went an interviewed people who were shamed online for us to get an update on where they are now. In Symeon Brown’s Get Rich Or Lie Trying he explores the influencer economy. Those who made it big, those who are lying to get there and those who basically are still figuring it out.

This book is an expose on the life of some social media influencers who will go through any lengths to look successful online. Brown speaks to influencers who are faking it for their audience, lying to them and some outright scamming them. I particularly loved how honest his insights were, it is a reminder that social media is not real.

[Aja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crucial reading if you're going to exist on the internet. I thought some of the critiques about the Black Lives Matters folks was a little harsh. But the plastic surgery chapter was absolutely horrifying. Sometimes this book swings and misses but when it doesn't ... it's a homerun.

[Stefan Mitev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Добре известна реплика на Анди Уорхол е, че всеки ще има своите 15 минути слава. Но за някои хора известността ще продължи доста по-дълго. Живеем в ерата на инфлуенсърите. Социалните мрежи дават възможност на всеки да стане сензация (във всеки възможен смисъл) почти мигновено. Бизнеси се създават и разрастват въз основа на своето онлайн присъствие и влияние. Само допреди 25 години подобни възможности в икономиката биха били немислими. За добро или по-често за лошо, влиянието на инфлуенсърите е навсякъде около нас, а това налага обстоен анализ.

Заглавието на книгата "Забогатей или лъжи докато се опитваш" е алюзия към известна песен на рапъра 50 Cent. Самият Къртис Джаксън успява да се превърне в световна звезда с издаването на първия си албум. Не е изненадващо, че мнозина се опитват да имитират неговия път към славата. Но малцина успяват. На всеки утвърдил се инфлуенсър има стотици, вероятно хиляди, провалили се в опити си, често с трагични последсвия. Книгата е посветена именно на неочаваните опасности по пътя към така желаната слава.

Кандидат инфлуенсърите често стигат до крайности, за да бъдат забелязани във все по-шумния и хаотичен свят. Измамите са често срещани. Някои "звезди" лъжат последователите си за реалните си умения, финансовото състояние и дори за цвета на кожата си. Оказва се, че има хора, готови дори да боядисат кожата си тъмна, което изглежда сега е модерно и известно под термина blackfishing. Тъмнокож шофьор на такси успява да добие огромна популярност като търпи расистки обиди от зрителите си по време на живи излъчвания. Всяка изречена обида в ефир струва няколко долара, а желаещите са повече, отколкото си представяте. Млади момичета качват еротични снимки в инстаграм и после "монетизират" в OnlyFans. Оказва се, че никоя постъпка не е твърде крайна. В инфлуенсър икономиката е по-изгодно да бъдеш мразен, отколкото игнориран.

Възможностите за печалба в социалните мрежи наистина са достъпни за всеки, който е склонен да жертва скрупулите си в името на успеха. Често желаещите да станат инфлуенсъри често са обект на измами - от участия в скъпи "нетуъркинг" събития без никаква реална полза до схеми за бързо забогатяване тип "мрежов" маркетинг (MLM), насочени към най-уязвимите социални слоеве. Замислете се колко лесно е вече да добиеш популярност в интернет с абсолютно безсмислени, вулгарни, кичозни или скандални постъпки. Всеки може да стане инфлуенсър, независимо от своето образование, качества и умения. Самата мисъл е плашеща, а последиците за нашето общество - за съжаление видими.

[CatReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Symeon Brown is an English journalist. In his 2022 book Get Rich or Lie Trying, Brown explores ways various brands and influencers have made money unethically in today's influencer economy. For instance, brands have run unreliable dropshipping businesses and switching their storefronts once enough negative press is generated, garnered business and free publicity by sending products to wannabe influencers for "only the cost of shipping" (which usually is way more than the product itself is worth), and otherwise used wannabe influencers to promote shady operations that can seriously harm people's lives and health (MLMs, unsafe plastic surgery and aesthetics center). And on the individual influencer level, Brown highlights many examples of wannabe influencers buying followers, knowingly promoting MLMs, knowingly being exploited by a more popular idiot to profit from the clout, meticulously crafting a false image of financial success or physical perfection that's only attainable through plastic surgery, cosmetic procedures, and/or photo filters.

I enjoyed this book, though I will note that its somewhat snarky tone (which I enjoyed) and content are quite similar to many Youtube docuseries channels that focus on very similar topics, brands, and influencers. The main difference (other than this being a book) is that Brown did travel and conduct in-person interviews with many of his subjects, whereas in the Youtube channels the creators generally act as third party observers for legal liability reasons. (Hopefully Brown covered his bases by entering into agreements with his subjects that they wouldn't sue him for his often unflattering portrayals.)

Further reading: frauds, the influencer economy and its psychological effects
Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women by Ellen Atlanta | my review - example of the psychological harms on people who are too drawn into this space
Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu | my review - a similar take from an Asian perspective
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova
Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork by Reeves Wiedeman
Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis

My statistics:
Book 116 for 2025
Book 2042 cumulatively

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of a shame really – it wasn't ever bad, exactly, it just felt lacking.

The text is snappy, and you could never call it rambling, but it just doesn't seem to end up anywhere. I feel like this is a person who writes competent, mostly clean long read copy – and this is several long reads put together. There was, for me, little that felt like it was deepening anything beyond the initial few chapters or going in a particular direction. I felt like a lot of the chapters could have been in any order.

I appreciated the author's breadth of coverage and interviewees, going beyond the global north and lots of influencer stereotypes, but I felt a level of depth and direction that I was looking for was too often missing.

I'm disappointed with some of the editing, too – I feel it's possible the author was let down. Despite concise, decent prose with the odd bit of wit or occasional insightful turn of phrase, there are odd things left in that just don't make sense, like (not verbatim) 'X was now unable to make rent, despite still sending regular chunks of money back home to Y country'. Things like that should have been caught by a sharper, more attentive editor.

I don't like editing in my head on a sentence level as I read, and it's especially frustrating when it happens too many times with someone who can clearly write fairly well.

This might be a good one to buy for someone like a younger brother or a second-career mum navigating the internet for the first time in a more directly professional way. There's nothing too startling or revelatory to people who already distrust influencers and are concerned by the ethics and welfare of wannabes. There's more information, some bits of it interesting, but as a book this doesn't work too well for me.

[Gemma Milne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cracking read about the influencer economy, the modern hustler / scammer affliction, and the capitalistic and cultural conditions us Millennials have lived through that are (partially) to blame.

Each chapter focuses on a different online community / ‘sector’ of influencers / scam - from cosmetic surgery, MLMs and BLM ‘activists’, to day traders, fast fashion and live-streamers - if nothing else, I very much enjoyed learning about the communities I’ve not been exposed to and diving deeper into those I’ve brushed up against at times. Symeon is a journalist, which doesn’t always guarantee a well-written and -researched book, but the systemic approach to storytelling, the way the characters are brought to life, and the combination of purposeful prose and sharp wit make this a delight to read.

[Erik Nygren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Great piece of journalism covering a wide range of contemporary issues stemming from the social media/influencer economy space.

A lot of happenings in this space are hard to boil down and explain simply, as much of it comes down to the UX of the platforms where they occur, and usually an intimate knowledge of platforms feel like a requirement to grasping trends or movements emerging from them. Not in this case, this book does a great job explaining social media tech in layman terms, even truly bizarre concepts like alt-right IRL twitch streamers with text-to-speech monetisation systems (yeah that’s a thing) makes sense.

Before reading this I thought I wouldn’t be surprised, but I was surprised to the extent that everything is a scam in this space. But social media is not something to take a smug “revenge of the nerds” stance to if you don’t interact much with it, considering the large share of the world’s population's attention being spent there. Also worth pointing out that this is not just about political discourse, but things like beauty standards, hyper individualisation and defining what success looks like. It’s hard to see good solutions for these types of tech platforms, as the follower model naturally lends itself to encouraging pyramid schemes, just as anxiety creeps in and expectations are set unnaturally high within the platform’s userbases.

Keep your sanity intact and only communicate via ASCII art

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
.......I
....../ \

[Emmy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not the book to reach for if you want to feel better about civilisation, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an interesting read. Well researched, well written and intelligently analysed—usually this sort of history is better when enough time has passed for a historical perspective to even be possible. But actually, this book provides urgent context to a lot of things you will have already heard of; and supplement with a lot you probably haven’t, to do what good long-form reporting is supposed to do, before a history can be put together.

[Bree Pollard · Rating 3 out of 5]

juicy binge read, some of the takes on sex work & black lives matter felt a bit eh.

[Mana · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are now millions of people making a living from their digital followings. This book is the result of an investigation and is a journey into their world.

The book explores the dark side of the influencer's world. Social media has emerged as the most exploitative frontier of late-stage capitalism. The author tells tales of exploitation, delusion, and dishonesty.

Brands have aggressively told us that the road to contentment is through consumption. You are what you possess. As millions of us clicked to take a voyeuristic interest in the mundane affairs of ordinary people, we wrested power away from the mass media that had once had a monopoly on our attention. In the process, we generated a new global currency: influence.

Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have disrupted the old expectations of the working class that they would spend their life in menial work and enabled a new class altogether: celebrity.


Social media encourages us to glamorise ourselves and misrepresent our reality as it introduces a profit motive into our social lives, with a profound impact on the way we behave.

The problem is that success in this world is not as attainable as some make it seem, and the addictive rewards of accruing followers by any means necessary are warping human behavior both on- and offline.

For influencers, deception is lucrative and becoming increasingly extreme.

Its real beneficiaries – the companies and shareholders reaping the highest rewards – are hidden by those desperate to take center stage.

Symeon Brown reveals the impact of social media on the sex industry, beauty surgeries, cryptocurrencies, online educational market, self-development industry, dropshipping phenomenon, activism and so much more.

And who wins in this game? The only certain winners are the tech companies disproportionately located on the West Coast of America.

Compelling, informative, and eye-opening book.

Must read!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

a collection of some of the jankiest business models i've ever had the pleasure of reading about

[Jesse Lynn Smart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally go for nonfiction books, but this one sounded fascinating, and I'm glad I went for it. Symeon offers deep insight into the damage done to the world as well as our mental and physical health by the influencer economy. Things I'd never have connected are made startlingly clear – such as the damage done by the fast-fashion industry, which is supported and turned into an even bigger monster by influencers sharing the products on their timelines. And while I was vaguely aware of the damage done to women's self-esteem by influencers and filters alike, I didn't realise it had gotten so bad. When I was in my twenties, we pretty much just wanted to be skinny and tan with shiny hair and big boobs, and maybe have smaller noses. Now girls in their twenties want huge lips, tiny noses with impossibly narrow bridges, chiselled jawlines, massive tits and butts out of proportion with their body types – basically, they all want to look like one of those ridiculous filters that makes everyone look like an anime character. And to make it more terrifying, dodgy surgeons are promising to make these twisted realities happen! Oh, by the way, if you suffer from morbid curiosity like me and look up the woman whose boob job went so bad...well, just make sure you do it on an empty stomach.

Forgive me, I'm rambling. Really good nonfiction books make me ramble, overexcited to share what I've learned. Please go read this book and then come ramble with me.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really compelling and easy read outlining the dark side of the influencer economy. From the evangelist undercurrent of new age male targeted MLM’s to outlining the hypocrisy of shilling fast fashion with feminist messaging - this book is a really good reflection on how the internet economy has made losers out of almost everyone

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off really well but personally, it lost me a bit oat crypto and all that. I know there's overlap but to me that's a whole different thing and I'm not interested in financial ins and outs. I'm a bit torn overall - others have mentioned the BLM section dropping off a bit. I feel quite complex stuff over that chapter. Whilst it was illuminating to read how Black folk had manipulated the hashtags for their gain, well, yeah...it's crass and should be a different hashtag but I don't think it necessarily warranted naming and shaming Black influencers over - and then there wasn't any light shone on how white influencers have used that hashing for theor personal gain. Maybe I'm missing something. The summary just felt like a very long form article. Again, not necessarily a bad thing. I'd have preferred more content like the first third of the book, I thought the part on Blackfishing could have been a whole book. As someone whose had to work with influencers from time to time I don't feel there was enough day to day examples of their attitudes and expectations and approach to their work. Some research into pop culture and other factors that got us here would have been great as well as looking at geographical differences (it did to some extent) including Dubai and how this has become an influencer honey trap. Lots missing from this (one terrifying sentence about, as a Black author, spending time with a Black influencer who can at any time have a fake police alert put on him for fun felt like it might go into a much darker place but it never got that deep) but what is there is really fascinating and well researched.

[Tasneem Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a world that revolves around social media and, by extension, influencers, this book was an eye-opening deep dive into the smoke and mirrors of it all. Excellently researched and includes extremely interesting first hand interviews with people caught up in the internet gig economy. As fascinating as it is disturbing - highly recommend!

[Diana Ishaqat · Rating 4 out of 5]

It stood out for me that the author has done research and connected both well-known and micro-influencing stories from the digital sphere. I think it’s an engaging dive especially with the story about the background of their author, his upbringing, London, and how things connect for him. I don’t think the book is about vanity, this is a modern power infrastructure. Cannot say it’s my type of books but it’s a good change, entertaining and well-researched.

[Kuang Ting · Rating 4 out of 5]

台灣AI公司iKala旗下有一款網路行銷產品叫KOL Radar，中文應翻為網紅雷達，目前資料庫中有超過三億位網紅。之前有讀到一位國外網紅評論網紅產業，表示目前的網紅數量可能已經太多了，全球2024年總人口大約80億，3/80=3.75%，代表差不多100人中有4位網紅。這個比例很耐人尋味，影響力照理說應該是稀缺的能力，但假如人人皆網紅，到底受眾是誰? 還有人可以被你影響嗎?

網紅的定義有很多種，我們暫時先不考慮統計和分類的方法，單純想一下這個數值的意思。網紅的英文名稱influencer比較能反映其內涵，就是一個人透過網路”影響”其他人，在歷史上能夠影響其他人的機會很少，通常得仰賴大眾媒體才有話語權。網路的發明讓發表近乎零門檻，因此迎來蓬勃發展的自媒體時代。

出身上流社會階層的人可能會感嘆網路讓平庸粗俗的文化大規模擴散(模仿學術用語: the prevalence of mediocracy)，壓縮到精緻文化的生存空間。但對於毫無資源背景的素人，網路其實提供一個打破階級束縛的管道。若你去查一下podcast排行，大概就能感受到”大眾文化”還是比較受歡迎；YT上面被暱稱為8+9草根性強烈的創作者，擁有數十萬追蹤也不少見。

如果你是Y世代以前出生的讀者，可能還記得以前我們信任權威，例如信賴知名教授或文化評論員的觀點。不過現在社會對”權威”的信任基礎已經瓦解，寧可相信素昧平生的網紅，也不採納所謂專家的建議。直到2010年代我覺得大家對傳統的權威接受度還行，但這幾年所謂”知識權威”的地位已經大幅減弱。

之前一位我很喜歡的學者寫讀��心得引起一些波瀾，然後我在FB的兔子洞鑽來鑽去，就會看到每個同溫層之間留言立場迥異，甚至有點互相嘲諷，新創的企業家就說不再那麼敬重對方了。一、二十年如果你是台大教授，亮出身分通常可以獲得對方的某種敬重，但現在偶爾上新聞的事件都是那種頂大教授做了某件事，結果被年輕人嘲笑”So what?”的新聞。

社會上對於信任的基礎已經轉移，加上假消息氾濫，AI又加劇此現象，可以信賴的消息來源似乎已經快消失殆盡。我們選擇用Dcard和Threads來接收陌生人的短文，並相信這些網友的資訊比傳統媒體更客觀公正。這種”典範移轉”讓我覺得很訝異，不帶批判性哦，純粹覺得大家對於資訊的接受和信賴竟然會有如此明顯的變化。讓我都要自我檢討只依賴BBC、紐時、FT等國際媒體的資訊，是不是害我都跟主流思想脫鉤了。(確實會，但這方面我還是當個保守派好了)

順便分享一個滿棒的澳洲媒體組織Inside Story，我有訂閱其電子報，從澳洲視角評論時事，他們也有專門針對book & art的欄位，我覺得是個很棒的書單來源，光讀他們的評論就已經能提供很大的啟發。月初讀到其中一篇評論〈What is a university?〉介紹1920年代紐約大學一���大膽前衛的教學實驗—Floating University，一行人五百人，搭郵輪環繞世界一年，拜訪世界各國，與改變世界的巨人當面互動，重點是這些經驗都可以算入畢業學分!

這是20世紀現代國際教育的濫觴，推動者認為教育不能只從紙本學習，更應該身體力行，直接參與在世界的脈動裡。這個計畫後來遭致批評被校方終止，但它的精神啟發了20世紀美國學子出國留學的風潮，並推廣至世界各地。這幾年歐美各國開始反思高等教育的意義，在資本社會裡高等學府變成職涯訓練所，似乎只是為了賺錢為目的，所以Floating University的那種do it rather than read it的初衷，很適合拿來反思當代大學的角色。

本文我最愛的takeaway是知識的權威性也是一種社會機構(institution)，取決於知識構成的合法性，如果大眾不認可，它的結構就會徹底瓦解。以前人們相信學術的良善用意，相信大學產出的學問可以帶給社會正面影響，但過去一百多年以來，學術圈也有被自己的架構設限，越來越多人認為”知識”純粹是布爾喬亞式的空談，所以對學術機構的信賴就漸漸消失。

推動這種認知的一道力量就是社群媒體上的網紅們，當然不能一概而論，但相信”讀者”朋友都能感受到，不讀書的行為能夠獲得遠超過讀書人所獲得的關注，越沒有下限越多眼球，流量就是粗暴的金流，社群媒體金律之一就是無法變現即無法永續。如果你還會對閱讀這種書籍有興趣，應該就是想要瞭解網紅產業的文化吧，可能跟我一樣，每次看到網紅的”脫序”行為獲得的按讚數和支持留言而瞠目結舌，只好反思該不會是自己”脫序”了，才無法懂得如何欣賞新時代的社會榜樣?

《金融時報》評論本書為第一本專注探討網紅產業黑暗面的作品，以前我在看紀錄片就知道素人們為了當網紅得做出極大的犧牲，所以對本書非常感興趣，報導性的非虛構能夠幫助讀者釐清社會現象，本書也嘗試讓我們瞭解整個influencer industry背後的故事。

我看國外書評表示本書缺乏核心宗旨，零散的把報導對象集中在一起，彷彿像在讀貼文，很難讓讀者對他們產生同情心。個人的看法是這種文化研究的主題本來就很發散，顧此失彼，不可能面面俱到去呈現整個網紅產業。換個角度來說，一個產業一定也有正面的一面，只是看你怎麼檢視。透過網路賺很多錢的人，根本不覺得網路存在剝削吧🤭，凡事向錢看，經濟法則會自動獎賞對社會有益的行為😏?

好啦，假如你是比較喜歡批判性思索的人，本書試圖呈現一個不為人知的龐式騙局，Okapi的書評已詳述許多案例，本書收錄的都是比較極端的故事。網路是社會集體的縮影，或者乾脆說網路就是現代的公民社會，社會本來就有各式各樣的族群，網路上必然同時存在光明與黑暗。整本書讀下來，我個人覺得比較害怕的是去中心化的趨勢，會讓穩定的職場及收入來源逐漸減少，這已經是進行中的大趨勢，現在使用網路這個行為已經變成某種消費行為，要嘛自己也跳進去成為供應商，不然就只能當個韭菜讓別人收割。

目前的網路仍不夠健全，尚未有完善的機制保障創作者的生計，導致網紅們為了生存無所不用其極。有時操之過急，使自己蒙受損失，得不償失。如果你覺得現在網路充斥著無數廣告，對於網紅行銷感興趣的話，這本書也可讓你一窺幕後祕辛。許多天真的網紅淪為犧牲品，像加入老鼠會一樣跳入不良廠商設下的陷阱。

你也會對這個產業的商業模式產生全新的看法，例如我第一次聽到Onlyfans這個贊助平台，我腦中還停留在古早和失去動能的Patreon。原來現在網路的贊助金流跟情慾的流動方向匯流為浩蕩江河，而藝文創作者的贊助僅涓涓細流。一切總會回歸馬斯洛的需求金字塔，唯有完整滿足原始的生存慾望，才有牢固的頂層結構。

可能現在人人都是底層網紅了。
Internet is open to everyone.

[Ruhi Dang · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite something but it doesn’t deserve to be a full book - a series of articles or a blog might have sufficed. Symeon details a number of raw, horrifying realities of social media across a range of topics. But there’s very little insight into what would a better world look like, or what can be done to improve platforms like Instagram. I ended the book longing for more thought, for better writing and for meaning, where none was found. I’d recommend you skip it.

[Artemis Spanou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps one of the best books written about today's society. For most people, the truth about social media is a bitter pill to swallow, but Symeon Brown delivered it successfully, with tones of empathy for the people he interviewed. It's too bad he doesn't get a lot of hearings, but I'm certainly going to recommend it to everybody I know. The pace is fast and straightforward, and it is ideal for readers who are not used in similar genres.

[Jess Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like this could have gone a lot deeper and that it was missing a central argument to tie it together. The book spent more time talking about MLMs rather than influencers (yeah, I understand the point he was trying to make there) but much of this stuff has been around years so it's hardly a 'new influencer economy'. Overall, it just felt like a bit of a missed opportunity really.

[ZB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and well researched - I thought this was going to just be about the Molly Mae’s of the world, but it went into so much more (crypto, dropshopping, MLM)! Pretty sad read as well about the influence of social media and the pursuit of wealth… particularly the exploitation of women. Had to google lots of references to AWFUL human beings. A really good intro to non-fiction for me!

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for review.

This book covers so much ground about the nature of online hustle culture and how capitalism and individualism permeate so much of online society across the board. To list a fair number of things it covers: dropshipping, dodgy cosmetic surgery, Vidcon, streamers, MLMs, so many pyramid schemes(!), influencers flouting advertising standards, big tech companies, hyper-consumerism, fast fashion, cryptocurrency, dodgy financial products, activism as branding, Theranos, WeWork and Nigerian internet scammers. The structure of the book flows really well, the segues between chapters are great, and overall it's just really enjoyable to read whether you know anything about the above or not. The book also ties together all these themes, stories and scams into overarching analysis about the decay of capitalism as millennials age into it, and how a culture of individualism and a lack of accountability feed a culture of deceit and corruption, evident perhaps most clearly at the highest levels of government in the UK. Highly recommend.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hysteria caused by the premature deaths of Diana, Versace and Biggie represented the new holy trinity of fame: high society (Diana), ostentatious celebrities (Versace) and the self-made famous with a story to tell (Biggie).

A very interesting read. I appreciated Brown's close attention to detail and extreme research. He also managed to discuss these topics without being needlessly harsh towards the victims of these modern-day scams. My favorite chapters were the earlier ones; I became less interested during the chapters covering Wall Street and trading, as I have little interest in economics. But overall, very interesting!

I read this book as an Ebook on Apple Books.

In the store, colourful tops proudly sport the slogans 'Equality' and 'Independent Woman,' and yet Fashion Nova is company owned and run by a man accused of profiting from clothes kept cheap by the exploitation of vulnerable women in his supply chain.

[Gia (지아) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

This was so interesting. Frightening, but interesting. I think this book paints a good picture of the way the hyper-consumerist and aspirational 1980s lead to the even more hyper-consumerist 2020s and its intersection with the internet age. I also really liked the analysis of the way 2 recessions / financial crises impacted / are still impacting millenials and Gen Z - I think it's important to consider modern overconsumption and status ambition in this context.

Only giving it 4.5 because I wish it were longer and I think that some more detail and / or more case studies could've added a lot to the discussion.

[TBHONEST · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get Rich or Lie Trying is a fascinating read that really highlights the sometimes seedy and untruthful life influencers and social media stars lead in the pursuit of being an influencer. It also looks at the industry as a whole. An eye opening read.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

The BBL chapter was some of the most horrific text I have ever read!!!

[Lianne Broughton · Rating 2 out of 5]

could have been interesting but overall felt it was lacking depth. chapters felt all over the place and often repetitive

not how i would have written it

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh we are living in hell!!! Appreciative of this book shining a light on the dark sides of the influencer economy - of which there are many!!!!