Stand-up comedian Mekki Leeper wanted to see if he could convince the Internet to buy a fake wellness product. With some slick branding, fake Instagram followers, and the perfect media outrage hook, Leeper turned a Squarespace website and $1,000 into global demand for $80 used tissues. Vaev tissues claimed to get you sick today, so you'd be inoculated later. And people were willing to pay big bucks for these chic snot rags.
The viral success of this fake health product (akin to Goop and Raw Water) lead to a Comedy Central digital show called Control Room, where Leeper plans to devise future commentary on why we're so gullible online. Alli and Jen talk to Leeper about the experiment, the new show, media literacy, fake news, and why reputable journalistic outlets were fooled into covering a company that doesn't exist.
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