The wildest thing about the Theranos doc is that people are like HOW could this YOUNG GRIFTER have FLIMFLAMMED so many PEOPLE and, I mean, the grifter is blond and doe-eyed the people bankrolling her were horned-up old white dudes terrified of death, this isn't difficult
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) March 20, 2019
Guys responding to this tweet with "Eh, she's not really hot," congratulations on missing the point right on schedule.
— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) March 20, 2019
I haven’t paid much attention to the Theranos scandal, because marketing a literal version of the classic Magical Money Box con to Silicon valley ‘edgelords’ hardly seemed innovative. Of course they knew it was almost certainly fraudulent, but like the medieval barons buying papal indulgences, just getting the offer was a mark of social status (to these marks.). And they figured they could always leverage it regardless, by selling the deed to a more gullible investor, or one looking to them for a favor.
(Besides, most ‘educated’ Americans know as much about medicine / medical technology as a feudal lord knew about actual Catholic theology. Throw your money in the offertory basket at Easter and Christmas, and be proud you can afford to pay for a private pew!)
Getting Henry Fekkin’ Kissinger hooked into her grift, though — that’s genuine craftsmanship. Like having the Papal nucio put his personal seal on those prettily-illuminated parchments…
Henry Kissinger was on the board. For some reason we find ourselves asking how Elizabeth Holmes conned Henry Kissinger and not how Henry Kissinger conned three generations of american political administrations
— mcc (@mcclure111) March 20, 2019
When he referred to Theranos' long board meetings as, "a human rights violation hahaha," I literally gasped.
— Sarah Hudson (@sbhudson108) March 20, 2019
A review, from Matt Zoller Seitz at RogerEbert.com:
Theranos sounds like a creature of myth, and in the end, that’s what the company was. Appealing to the common fear of having blood drawn invasively in large amounts, Holmes spun an enticing pitch about building a compact, portable analysis machine named after Thomas Edison and able to perform 200 different kinds of tests quickly, using a pinprick’s worth of blood. Holmes styled herself as a Mozart-caliber wunderkind. She started her company when she was barely old enough to drink. Within a matter of years, it employed 800 people and was valued at $10 billion.
Unfortunately, Holmes’ machine couldn’t do what she promised. She wasn’t a scientist, and her own experts had warned her that it was physically impossible to build the device she’d envisioned. …
Late-Night Movies Open Thread: Scammers All the Way Down (The Theranos Grift)Post + Comments (61)