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Theranos-Style Fraud Has Become the Norm

theatlantic.com89 points33 comments
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Commenters debated whether Theranos-style fraud has become widespread. Some argued it has: orliesaurus said companies routinely raise hundreds of millions on “fakeish” ARR only to collapse later, and bix6 flagged FTX, Terra‑Luna, Nikola, Builder.ai, Frank, Kalder, Joonko O and dubious AI ARR math as red flags, calling VC “for the taking.” Jacquesm and others pointed to recent nonrefundable downpayments for vehicles that never shipped as more everyday examples. Pseudony and cmiles74 framed the issue politically, suggesting that government corruption, pardons, and continued enrichment of powerful families show society is more tolerant of large‑scale grift.

Others pushed back that Theranos was unusual. ViktorRay and danielklnstein argued medical falsification is qualitatively different from startup “fake it till you make it,” and danielklnstein said high‑profile scandals have made due diligence stricter. Whimsicalism criticized the piece’s emphasis on Trump and government cases. Several commenters advised consumer caution around preorders and downpayments (api, btilly, jacquesm), while mschuster91 and api invoked Reddit’s early shady practices and content problems as part of a broader cultural critique about glorifying unscrupulous growth tactics.

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