“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire using verified profiles | Hacker News Reader

“App Developer” bamboozles Redditors as a millionaire using verified profiles

np.reddit.com

47 pointssupercanuck21 comments

Honestly, it's even more complicated; it's hard to tell if this person is lying or not. It seems like most likely, he's trolling and making people think his life was a lie. Pretty hilarious either way. https://www.reddit.com/r/UnethicalLifeProTips/comments/7xcou...

I trust him even less because I cannot tell when he is telling the truth. This is great.

If anything, it bums me out how mad some people are getting over it. It's pretty harmless and hilarious in my opinion. I admit, it's hard to trust him after this stunt, but logically it's kind of clear he's rich and has nothing to lose by having a go.

Why are you bummed that people are mad about being lied to? It seems like a reasonable human reaction.

On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

Basically, because I do feel like it is a mostly-harmless lie that is quite funny. I get that it is eroding people's sense of trust, but I'm guessing his intent was not to mess with his own following but to mess with the general reddit community. The fact that this went viral seems to have pulled in some of his fans, but I doubt it was intentional.

> mostly-harmless lie that is quite funny.

People feel shitty when they are lied to and laughed at.

It's a shitty thing to do. If you enjoy it, that's fine. It's still a dick move.

Wow, I remember reading the App Developer AMA and assuming it was fact without checking any references myself. Beyond filter bubbles and fake news, this really shows how susceptible we are to our own bias.

Online, I could be completely cynical about everything, not believe anyone without 10 layers of solid citations, and so on. And to do that I'd have to spend 48 hours per day online checking facts and sources, or never venture onto the internet.

On the other end, I could just believe everyone at face value, and get bamboozled and misled frequently.

Instead, each person has to strike a balance. Have a balance of trust, and recognize when you're putting forth faith in someone. Be ready to transition from trust to cynicism. For things that don't matter (like "believing someone is a millionaire"), don't worry about it - unless and until that "millionaire" tries to offer you personally something too good to be true.

Exactly. I have nothing invested in the story some random guy on Reddit is telling. Why not take it at face value? If I'm going to go tell a bunch of friends about it or take some action myself based on it, then sure, I'm going to want to apply a little skepticism to save myself from making a mistake or looking foolish.

Allegory of the blockchain?

What he says about escalating fame and using less reliable sources as social proof to get covered by more reliable sources does seem to play out in the world.

There are all sorts of "awards" ceremonies for things like best employer, best company in IT, etc. but frequently to get into such awards you have to pay money (surprise surprise) and the entrants get to nominate themselves. Then when they win, they take the story to the local and trade press, and on and on it goes.

Can I get a brief summary from a fellow HNer, not too versed with reddit and reading all the many reddit comments have confused me more than just simply reading that man's confession.

It's not entirely clear, but I gather one of the following occurred: either 1) The person convinced Reddit they are a wealthy app developer, by using fake sources, or 2) The person is actually a wealthy app developer, and is trolling Reddit by telling them he was faking it.

I don't know but #2 is equally as likely as #1. I just went through his FB profile[1] and some reddit comments[2] and this is just too much shit for it not to be real. I guess if this is a fake then it has to be one of the best fakes i've read online in the last 10 years.

[1] https://www.facebook.com/allenapp

[2] https://reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/67zv7a/my_dad_does_tile_fo...

[2.1] https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/68pck7/im_that_multim...

There's a YouTube channel with 60k subs and dozens of supercar videos, those would be pretty hard to fake

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnethicalLifeProTips/comments/7xcou...

This is one of those times if you want to find out the truth, just step back and wait a while. It's all over the place in that thread right now.

This person pretended to be a millionaire mobile app developer on the internet (specifically on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" community) by creating fake social media accounts, doing interviews with online news companies, and living out this persona of a rich tech mogul. He played the long con by amassing his followers organically and getting verified by major social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook specifically mentioned). He has apparently written a book about his app development ventures (which were not confirmed to be real or fake), been invited to speak at Harvard, and produces believable content that his followers consume despite it being a hoax.

He has used his stolen fame for good, however, by instructing his followers to donate to a charity concerned with clean water initiatives. He has motivated and inspired many people to make changes in their lives (including, but not limited to, becoming successful app developers themselves). Meanwhile, he's just an average joe who faked his way to the top.

My $0.02: if it's true that he is indeed a phony confessing to the world (which has yet to be confirmed), good on him. He has become what he originally faked. Maybe he isn't a successful app developer like he pretended to be, but he is a successful community figure no matter how small his circle may be. He has motivated, inspired, and helped the people he duped into believing his story. If this is all true, I've never seen a better use of being a conman (and probably never will). He's happy for the people he's inspired to become successful which seems to have made him genuinely happy himself. But, who knows, maybe the hoax is a hoax and we're the ones being duped.

The double irony is that lots of media outlets will pick this up and interview him and eventually he’ll become the authority on how to “fake it till you make it.”

Bamboozling redditors is a really low bar to set as a life goal

What a POS. I've known him online for years.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com