{"id":301313,"date":"2021-07-17T02:52:22","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T23:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/anatomy-of-a-maga-scam\/"},"modified":"2021-07-17T02:52:22","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T23:52:22","slug":"anatomy-of-a-maga-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/anatomy-of-a-maga-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"#Anatomy of a MAGA scam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Anatomy of a MAGA scam<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div><span>What would you say if I told you there was a completely uncensorable, 100% secure phone you could buy that would not only stick it to those Silicon Valley elites, but it\u2019d also help support good old American freedom and democracy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Well, hell, I\u2019d say: sign me up! Give me 10 Freedom phones and a side of <\/span><i>making shit great again.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><span>First though, let\u2019s take a look at what we\u2019re getting into. I love Freedom\u00a9 as much as the next person but I\u2019m also a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> journalist. And that means I can tell you how <\/span><i>awesome this is!<\/i><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1361045 size-full js-lazy\" alt=\"A picture of a really crappy phone\" width=\"787\" height=\"1426\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 787px) 100vw, 787px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone.jpg 787w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone-116x210.jpg 116w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone-149x270.jpg 149w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone-75x135.jpg 75w\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1361045 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of a really crappy phone\" width=\"787\" height=\"1426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone.jpg 787w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone-116x210.jpg 116w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone-149x270.jpg 149w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphone-75x135.jpg 75w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>Behold the the badass Freedom phone!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Specs:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CPU: Connects directly to James Woods\u2019 brain via the cloud<\/li>\n<li>Screen: 4K is for liberals and nerds<\/li>\n<li>OS: Whatever the cheapest Android clone we could smash together was<\/li>\n<li>RAM: No thanks, I prefer Ford trucks.<\/li>\n<li>Battery: Google says that\u2019s a song by Metallica but this device only plays Kid Rock<\/li>\n<li>Ports: You\u2019re an idiot, you don\u2019t care. (Seriously, there\u2019s NO information on the website)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Okay, those aren\u2019t the real specs. I mean, they could be. Nobody freaking knows.<\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/freedomphone.com\/\">a website<\/a>. But, well, it\u2019s a hoot. It invokes the kind of imagery you\u2019d imagine if MyPillow had a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> show on OANN at the highly-coveted 2AM time slot and Freedom Phone bought 20 minutes of advertising time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>Do you love Freedom? Did you know that Osama, whoops, I mean Obama uses phones from US companies such as Google and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le? Are you a liberal, communist, piece of America-hating crap like Obama? No? Then why are you using the same phone as a liberal, communist, piece of America-hating crap? <\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>In all seriousness: <\/b>On a scale of one to the life\u2019s work of Charles Ponzi, I\u2019d rate the Freedom Phone the Joe Exotic\u2019s run for Governor of smart phone scams.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a tweet thread from the proprietor of the Freedom Phone, Erik Finman:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today I&#8217;m announcing the Freedom Phone.<\/p>\n<p>This is the first major pushback on the Big Tech companies that attacked us \u2013 for just thinking different. <\/p>\n<p>Complete with it&#8217;s own Uncensorable App Store &amp; Privacy Features.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re finally taking back control. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tOSnuxncfd\">https:\/\/t.co\/tOSnuxncfd<\/a><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Hykp08ITCQ\">pic.twitter.com\/Hykp08ITCQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 ERIK FINMAN (@erikfinman) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/erikfinman\/status\/1415328529034715141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 14, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In announcing the phone, Finman says it comes \u201ccomplete with it\u2019s own Uncensorable App Store &amp; Privacy Features.\u201d This sets the huckster, carnival barker tone that Finman\u2019s adopted for this particular scam (more on Finman later, he and the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> go back a few years).<\/p>\n<p>Words like \u201cuncensorable,\u201d capitalized above, are meaningless buzzwords employed to attract conservatives who know little-to-nothing about tech.<\/p>\n<p>But we know smart phones here at TNW. Our Plugged sub-brand has some of the finest reviewers in the business. And we\u2019ve reviewed hundreds (if not thousands) of smart phones over the years. So trust me when I tell you that it\u2019s <em>always<\/em> a bad sign when a manufacturer won\u2019t disclose technical specs.<\/p>\n<p>What we <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/maga-branded-freedom-phone-is-a-black-box-that-should-b-1847299215\">do know<\/a> is that Finman\u2019s phone is cobbled together from Chinese parts and features a hodge-podge OS. That doesn\u2019t mean it sucks, but there\u2019s definitely a reason he won\u2019t share any of the actual tech specs. And it\u2019s almost certainly because this phone has shit hardware and a shittier OS.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, there\u2019s no such thing as uncensorable. Finman is preying on ignorance. Buying a Freedom Phone won\u2019t get you unblocked from Facebook or let you tell your truth about vaccines on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>All this phone can do, is come up with a homemade app store that allows people who can\u2019t peddle their apps on other app stores, such as Alex Jones, to access the user base. In other words: You\u2019re paying $500 for a device using an OS and app store that is almost guaranteed to fail.<\/p>\n<p>App stores take a certain percentage of revenue in order to facilitate seamless transactions. In this case, there will be next to no revenue for anyone participating in Finman\u2019s scam. Freedom Phone only needs to sell a few hundred thousand units for Finman to make another million or so.<\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s imagine you\u2019re in an online eco-system with 500K other users. All of you are like-minded, MAGA-loving, Americans who just want to get your news from right wing outlets and socialize with people who think like you.<\/p>\n<p>No offense, but who the hell wants to develop an app with a 100% saturation ceiling of 500K users? Literal billions of people play mindless puzzle <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s on Facebook and even a modest hit in the Apple store ticks a million or more users in a single day.<\/p>\n<p>Even among Trump supporters, there\u2019s only a very small percentage of people who would so gleefully seek such an insular experience.<\/p>\n<p>Even worse, buying this phone won\u2019t give you any more access to right wing voices than any other phone currently does. Because your phone, OS, browser, or app store isn\u2019t what\u2019s censoring them.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re not being censored. They\u2019re being deplatformed. And a smart phone isn\u2019t a platform.<\/p>\n<p>So when the Daily Stormer gets taken down because nobody will host it \u2013 that means it\u2019s down no matter what your phone\u2019s personal politics are. When Trump gets kicked off Facebook and Twitter and then fails to start his own successful social media network despite nobody trying to stop him, that\u2019s not censorship. A Freedom Phone won\u2019t can\u2019t connect you to something that doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day, this is a $500 <i>\u201clegal\u201d <\/i>scam. Finman\u2019s selling you a phone. As long as it functions at all, he\u2019ll have lived up to his end of the contract. But you\u2019re almost certainly getting a piece of shit phone with a barely-functioning OS that absolutely \u201cuncensors\u201d nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the worst part: Erik Finman knows exactly what he\u2019s doing. I said we\u2019d get to him, here we go.<\/p>\n<p>I started covering the \u201cTeenage Bitcoin millionaire\u201d back in 2018. I was enamored of his entrepreneurship and, as someone who went through a pretty big punk rock phase in his late teens, I saw a bit of myself in Erik\u2019s brashness.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1361047 aligncenter js-lazy\" alt=\"An Instagram post from Erik Finman, lying on a mattress holding a pistol, surrounded by cash. \" width=\"1347\" height=\"1549\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1347px) 100vw, 1347px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning.jpg 1347w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-183x210.jpg 183w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-235x270.jpg 235w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-117x135.jpg 117w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-796x915.jpg 796w\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1361047 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning.jpg\" alt=\"An Instagram post from Erik Finman, lying on a mattress holding a pistol, surrounded by cash. \" width=\"1347\" height=\"1549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning.jpg 1347w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-183x210.jpg 183w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-235x270.jpg 235w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-117x135.jpg 117w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmaning-796x915.jpg 796w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>Finman and I talked several times, though if I recall correctly I only wrote twostories about him. Over a couple of years he and I discussed data \u2013 I\u2019ve always maintained we should get paid for our data \u2013 and other topics such as the education system, cryptocurrency, and satellites.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1361048 js-lazy\" alt=\"a screenshot of a deleted tweet \" width=\"605\" height=\"329\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet.jpg 1630w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-280x152.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-497x270.jpg 497w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-248x135.jpg 248w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-796x433.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-1592x865.jpg 1592w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Finsider%2F2021%2F07%2F16%2Ffreedom-phone-anatomy-maga-scam%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Finman\u2019s deleted all the tweets from his pre-MAGA days.\" data-title=\"Share Finman\u2019s deleted all the tweets from his pre-MAGA days. on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Finman\u2019s deleted all the tweets from his pre-MAGA days. on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Finman\u2019s deleted all the tweets from his pre-MAGA days.<\/figcaption><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1361048\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet.jpg\" alt=\"a screenshot of a deleted tweet \" width=\"605\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet.jpg 1630w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-280x152.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-497x270.jpg 497w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-248x135.jpg 248w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-796x433.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/finmantweet-1592x865.jpg 1592w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>Finman\u2019s one of the most intelligent people I\u2019ve interviewed. He easily bantered about artificial intelligence, networking, space tech, and cryptocurrency with me and clearly knew what he was talking about.<\/p>\n<p>And that makes it doubly-disgusting to know he\u2019s perpetuating this scam on hapless, ignorant people who clearly just want to do what they think is right.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy for those of us who see MAGA as a negative force to dunk on the imaginary redhats who\u2019ll be duped by Finman\u2019s \u201ctech genius version of Mike Lindell\u201d act. But here\u2019s the thing: from what I hear, Lindell\u2019s pillows are actually pretty damn good. This phone is almost certainly shit.<\/p>\n<p>And anyone with even the tiniest amount of tech savvy is going to avoid it. Would you spend $500 on ANY other tech gadget that had absolutely no reviews from Plugged, Gizmodo, Engadget, Tech Crunch, The Verge, CNET, Tom\u2019s Hardware, or any other reputable website?<\/p>\n<p>Most of us wouldn\u2019t. And the type of person who would probably isn\u2019t reading TNW right now to get this warning. They\u2019re about to get scammed. And I don\u2019t think they deserve it.<\/p>\n<p><b>And if I\u2019m wrong:<\/b> I\u2019m willing to eat an entire fresh-baked humble pie. Send me a review unit Erik. I\u2019ll put my journalistic integrity on the line and give it a completely honest review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/freedom-phone-anatomy-maga-scam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Anatomy of a MAGA scam&#8221; What would you say if I told you there was a completely uncensorable, 100% secure phone you could buy that would not only stick it to those Silicon Valley elites, but it\u2019d also help support good old American freedom and democracy? Well, hell, I\u2019d say: sign me up! Give me&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":301314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/07\/freedomphonefeat-1.jpg&signature=c11257aa3487d56cc64c3bd30981290f","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-301313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}