When Oobah Butler was hard up for cash, he found a gig writing fake reviews for London restaurants he’d never been to. He fell into an abyss of forgeries on TripAdvisor that gave him an idea.
What if he invented a fake restaurant, powered by more fake reviews, to fool everyone? The performance art stunt took on a life of its own, compelling him to have a fake grand opening of The Shed, London’s No. 1 restaurant on the Internet—which served microwave meals in Butler’s backyard.
The ultimate “Emperor’s New Clothes” story propelled Butler to worldwide fame, where he continued to trick the media by hiring actors to portray him in interviews.
This week on 2 Girls 1 Podcast, Alli and Jen (actors who perform weird internet stuff on stage) have a long talk with Butler about why the anonymity of the internet makes people so gullible.
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2 Girls 1 Podcast is hosted by Allison Goldberg and Jennifer Jamula, and is produced and edited by Matt Silverman in New York City. Production assistance is provided by The Podglomerate.
Want to hear more from the Daily Dot? Check out the Upstream Podcast, tackling the week in streaming entertainment, and We’re All Gonna Die, our weekly politics roundtable.
