A fabricated acquisition rumor prompted a real investor to fund Vice’s New York move

Evidence

Vice pivoted from a community publication to a “blend of outright fabrication and almost confessional sincerity.” One fabrication proved particularly fruitful: The founders falsely claimed Canadian software mogul Richard Szalwinski wanted to buy the magazine. When Szalwinski read the lie, he invested $1 million of his real money for 25 percent ownership. The windfall funded Vice’s move to New York in 1999, where it quickly became central to downtown culture, attracting photographers like Terry Richardson and Ryan McGinley, as well as indie comedians David Cross and Sarah Silverman. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 71

Categorization

• CANDY: A delightful anecdote: lying about a buyer produced a real million-dollar investment.
• XREF: Earlier in this very chapter’s material on Vice presumably; connects to the overall story of how counterculture gets co-opted.