I got a strange e-mail the other day from someone claiming to have a breaking news story about a book that stopped a school shooting. If that wasn’t odd enough, the book was about “How to be a Soft Boi,” which was a term I wasn’t even familiar with. The whole thing was so weird that I just had to look into it, and was a little baffled by what I found.

Authors these days will tell you writing the book is the easy part, it’s marketing that’s the real challenge. It seems they are taking some desperate measures to market their books and get people to do book reviews, including concocting weird stories and fake Facebook profiles to go with it, as I recently found out.

Step 1, Create a Fake News Story

It all started with an e-mail I received from someone going by Evan Morello, about a grandma supposedly stopping a school shooting by giving her grandson this amazing soft boi book. A “soft boi” is apparently a term for a boy who is soft and sensitive. It sounds a lot like an emo kid, maybe just on the lighter side.

Here’s the e-mail I got:

Hey Candy, 

Minneapolis Grandma Stopped School Shooting with a Self-Help Book
Here’s a link to the Facebook post I found that’s absolutely blowing up: Joyce King – I prevented a school shooting with a self-help book…. | Facebook

I spoke with the grandson in more depth and he explained everything. He had acquired an AR-15 and a pistol and was going to wait until his grandma was dead to carry out the shooting. Then, he followed just a couple of things from the book which helped him meet a girl and really turn his life around. 

Book could be the incel-killer. It’s called “How To Be A Soft Boi: Crush Toxic Masculinity and Win Hearts with Your Sensitive Side”. Let me know if you want to run with it or if I should send it elsewhere.

Thanks, Evan

Step 2, Fake a Viral Facebook Post

As of today, the Facebook profile and post are still active. You can see the post has over 2,500 likes! But only 2 comments, both by the “grandma.” That makes it pretty obvious those likes were purchased.

Even more obvious if you check to see who actually liked it, and it’s a long list of sketchy fake profiles with middle eastern names. Likes are very easy to buy, and pretty cheap. However, actual comments are pricey.

Gosh, good thing Joyce linked the amazing book in her comments section! Just one thing- the profile is fake, and the photo is of a woman actually named Lucille who passed away in February, 2022: https://obituaries.dailyindependent.com/obituary/lucille-juett-1084483982

Talk about a sketchy marketing plan!

The book itself does appear to be a real book available on Amazon.

Step 3, Share Your Amazing Fake News

So this guy e-mails me, posing as another writer with a hot tip about a viral story. He asks if I want to cover it, or if he should move on and offer it to someone else. He even has an exclusive interview with the former possible school shooter, now soft boi fan. Check it out:

Hello Mr. Morello,

Yes, that’s the book. My grandson read a lot of other books but to no avail. I think this one was different enough from other self-help books to pique his interest. I’ll ask him to email you with some more details.

Sincerely, Joyce

And here’s the details from the soft boi himself:

“hello mr morello this is jordan. yeah that book seemed cringe as fuck lol but legit i just followed the tip on buying clothes from a thrift store that fit and also the tip on how to smell better and like the following week I met Sydney and my whole life changed. i confessed to grandma, showed her the guns, plans, my manifesto, everything really. it’s insane how much this cringey book helped LMAO. i can talk on the phone too if you want. “

You know what’s really cringe AF? This weird book marketing scheme!

There was also a really long message detailing the grandson’s decent into darkness, Joyce doing a lot of praying, and finally being able to get through to him with the book.

After I did about two minutes of research to debunk the story, I replied back to let Mr. Morello know “Joyce” had passed away and that it was the weirdest marketing ploy I’ve ever run across. I asked him if he wrote the book and if it was a real book or some weird joke.

As of this writing, he has not responded. I will follow up if he ever does!

September 2024 Update: He never responded, and the fake profile is still on Facebook! I’ve reported it several times, but Facebook doesn’t care about someone using a deceased person’s photo for fake accounts apparently. I left a comment on the post with a link to the obituary.

The book is still available on Amazon, and it seems he didn’t manage to fool anyone into reviewing it. It still has the one fake 5-star review.