Expanding Frontiers: Ernie Piper

Erica Lukes and Jack Brewer recently spent some time talking with Ernie Piper, and share that video discussion on the February 3 edition of Expanding Frontiers. Ernie is a writer and editor, and works as a reporter. He covers tech, disinformation and internet culture -- basically, how stories move online, and how they affect our lives.

He was a co-author of a widely cited report published at Logically which revealed how QAnon-affiliated influencers persuaded their thousands of followers to invest in a fraudulent cryptocurrency portfolio. As the report explains, the scam combined conspiracizing with bad investment advice which consisted of claims of access to secret military intelligence information. This purportedly gave investors valuable insider knowledge of which cryptocurrencies were going to succeed, but the reality of the circumstances proved tragically different. Read the report here:

https://www.logically.ai/articles/qanon-crypto-lose-followers-2-million

Previously Ernie Piper worked as a travel journalist, and has published two books: a travel guide, and a memoir about performing in a musical in Turkey. He grew up in Alaska, went to school in Seattle, and spent many years in Istanbul. He now lives with his partner in London.