There no heroism. They fumbled their way to survival. Unless they want to further humiliate themselves, I don't think there's any deals here. There's no Gofundme either.
It doesn't matter if they were heroes or not, "stories that make money" aren't always about heroism. "Survival against all odds" is another popular trope. This would fit in the "survival against all odds" category.
People make fools of themselves on reality TV just for the chance of becoming famous.
You haven't provided an explanation grounded in stupidity. Simply agreeing that they are morons doesn't explain anything about why they created this situation and told these specific lies. You've postulated no motive, not even a stupid one.