August 5, 2006 — Shopify Your Pseudoscience

OA publishing and social media gave pseudoscience information a business model, but how do those people actually sell and fulfill products? The media keep missing this story, focusing on the products and not the businesses, as we found with a recent WIRED story about “natural” alternatives to Adderall. It’s not that they’re pushing these as much as how easily they’re able to push them in the first place. Shopify is a central operator, with templates, stock photos, profitability calculators, e-commerce, and fulfillment services. Just pick your poison, so to speak, and watch the money start to flow. The family behind Shopify, based in Canada, is also trying to build a media empire called True North. And, since their politics tilt to the right, it’s no surprise their stock price also responds to the political winds of their most lucrative market, the US. From “slopfluencer” grandmas to AI monks, it seems no taboo is off-limits when it comes to scamming people. There are retail competitors, including Amazon and TikTok, but one in particular seems focused on undercutting Shopify — another platform that feels even griftier called Swell. We’ll walk you through what we’ve found. It’s not definitive, and we can only speculate about some things, but it’s worth knowing about. Of course, we share our “Discoveries of the Week.” Subscribe to our podcast Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Amazon Music/Audible Subscribe on YouTube Music provided by Provoke the Truth — https://provokethetruth.net/