Authors
Hilary Oliva Faxon, Courtney T Wittekind
Publication date
2023/11/8
Journal
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space
Pages
02637758231205958
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Description
Scams are endemic to digital capitalism, whether they manifest as bitcoin bubbles or bullshit jobs. Drawing on two years of digital ethnography in Myanmar’s Facebook land markets, this article explains what happens when the land scam migrates online. By unraveling warnings of trickery, interviewing wary participants, and inhabiting Facebook Live real estate tours, we argue that the scam is a vocation born of hope and desperation that targets land as the most-stable asset amidst crisis, one which operates through the networked and affective affordances of social media sites. Specifically, we highlight how Facebook enables brokers to ‘crowd’ transactions and amplify hype around sought-after plots, obscuring risk and responsibility while generating excitement and competition. Live video formats enable brokers to cultivate digital intimacy and authenticity from afar, creating a collective emotional investment in what …
Total citations
20243
Scholar articles
HO Faxon, CT Wittekind - Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2023