The Half-Billion Dollar Industry of Fake Crowds

Ever wondered why that packed product launch or political rally felt just slightly off? The rent-a-crowd industry is a global, half-billion dollar business that supplies paid attendees to make events look popular. From Parisian opera claqueurs in the 1820s to modern firms with AI enthusiasm scoring and gig-economy recruitment, this episode unpacks how companies like Crowds on Demand and Rent-a-Crowd UK manufacture organic-looking crowds. We explore the economics, the technology, the political scandals, and the unsettling question: when one in eight tech press conferences uses paid attendees, what happens to our ability to trust what we see?