The Grift Economy

How Nihilists Turned Expertise into the Enemy

Duluth, Georgia — October 23, 2024: An American conservative political commentator, Benny Johnson speaks at Donald Trump's election rally at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia.

I need to tell you something that should be obvious but apparently isn’t: a good third of this country now lives in a reality constructed entirely by bullshit artists who want to sell them survival gear and supplements.

Let me be specific about what I mean. Take Benny Johnson—one of the leading “conservative” influencers with millions of followers across social media platforms. His track record is publicly documented: serial plagiarist fired from BuzzFeed, conspiracy theorist suspended from multiple outlets, abusive manager who made women cry, and most recently, a Russian asset who took nearly $10 million in foreign money to produce propaganda videos.

All of this is on Wikipedia. All of it is documented in mainstream reporting. None of it is hidden or disputed.

Yet his audience doesn’t care. They don’t see his record as disqualifying—they see it as credentials. Because in the grift economy, being a proven liar isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.

This isn’t an accident. It’s a business model.