Graeme Wood takes a fascinating look at The World of Black-Ops Reputation Management for New York Magazine:
Whoever he was, it seemed that “Xander Fields” had built a whole Potemkin universe of positive-press websites that amplified made-up praise, often by made-up people, for a handful of rich folks with messy online reputations. I was now deep down in a rabbit hole but hadn’t yet landed with a satisfying thud. Who was “Xander Fields”?
I love reading stories like this. Consider this your required weekend reading.