Get Rich or Lie Trying by Symeon Brown
Synopsis
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.
Reviews
'Well-researched, quietly polemic' The Sunday Times
'Fantastic and one of the first to try and really figure out how a deterioration of material conditions for young people has resulted in a hyper individualistic and cynical influencer economy built on deception' Hussein Kesvani
'Compelling.' Reni Eddo-Lodge
'The first serious attempt to expose the hidden darker side of the economy of influencing' Financial Times