No, it isn't obvious that the listed testimonials are fake.
That doesn't make you stupid, but you may find that you encounter similar situations in life, and it's something you may want to be aware of before you start throwing around big words like "lies", "shameful" and "dishonest" where such reactions are completely misplaced.
I really doubt most people know who Gawker, Bruce Sterling, John Gruber or FaltyDL are, which makes it doubtful that most people are in on the joke.
I mean who would ever say "It's the most exciting thing I've done this year" for a site like this?
A typical tech blogger.