# the fake brand that ChatGPT fell for

*$11.25 in domain fees and a dream*

By [Boys Club](https://paragraph.com/@boysclub) · 2026-08-05

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/229a4783d180b8242e032a4ec05f7724b891cb7260b5817d9e943c0479cbc284.png)

Hi!

Our new show Lookbook launches today, which is all about fashion and trends and how the internet shapes it all.

> [— # (#)  
> ](https://twitter.com/BoysClubWorld/status/2084672637364523122)

[Tap in.](https://x.com/Cait_Cavell/status/2083230052678852735?s=20)

Writer: [Deana](https://x.com/medeana)

Editor: Miranda

[_Across_](https://across.to/) _just made itself agent-readable. 8 skill files covering swaps, embedded crosschain actions, deposit tracking, and security, plus an MCP endpoint so your agent_ [_can actually execute_](https://skills.across.to/)_, not just read about it._

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ac36e51469ab0cd441d5ce00f8ed923047859c6634160e37a7b0ddb53f254c66.jpg)![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1b817c4f5a5a7313cf3ee6bdd080c2d3178aaac623cb9f2dfe047bb7d1aae918.png)

**I made up a deodorant brand and ChatGPT started recommending it 3 weeks later.** I’ve been thinking a lot about agentic commerce and how completely it’s going to swallow “shopping,” especially as the tech matures from the recommendation [to the purchase](https://stripe.com/blog/agentic-commerce-suite).

The stakes are sky high. Ecommerce cleared [$6 trillion](https://www.emarketer.com/content/worldwide-ecommerce-sales-break-6-trillion) in 2024, and all of it is about to route through this new AI layer which is incredibly opaque.

I expanded on all this with an [“unhinged”](https://x.com/NatalieFratto/status/2084992215592366458?s=20) experiment that you can read in full [here](https://x.com/medeana/status/2084671218704159169).

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5b6389b7fd4e0fdea06581333f6aa6bfd42cd273a9db08146c0e9dafa57b8a01.png)

this is not a real brand which is obvious to you and me but not ChatGPT.

**Quick Hits.**

*   [Is NYC winning the war on rats?](https://x.com/MikeVorkunov/status/2084681785640616264?s=20) Sightings are down 22% since Jan!!
    
*   Strong recommend for this piece on [data center activism](https://jasmi.news/p/no-data-centers-in-my-backyard) in the Midwest, especially if you exist in a tech industry bubble. The author articulates this culturally pervasive mistrust of government and institutions that’s actually driving the movement, more than a fear of AI itself. Which I GET.
    
*   Baseball players have [decided Babe Ruth never existed](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:6guagmhjwdanmotimn45j3pq/post/3ms6r2jrcus2e). The _Babe tRuthers_ if you will.
    
*   A study of AI-generated web content found it wasn't less accurate BUT what shrank [was the range of unique ideas](https://gizmodo.com/dead-internet-theory-is-17-of-the-way-to-becoming-reality-study-finds-2000751718). The Great Averaging of the Internet continues.
    
*   Hackers have drained [more than $130 million in BTC](https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/04/hackers-steal-over-130-million-by-exploiting-bug-in-offline-hardware-wallets/) from Coldcard hardware wallets through a flawed random number generator, and the exploit is still active.
    

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1966f21a090881b4e615f98e2e4cd22991c86d225d2bca16264a86cae1898ee6.png)

> [— # (#)  
> ](https://twitter.com/wowzowee/status/2084725098477502803?s=20)

> [— # (#)  
> ](https://twitter.com/heirmeg/status/2084572166398308800?s=20)

> [— # (#)  
> ](https://twitter.com/james406/status/2084293608895660344?s=20)

> [— # (#)  
> ](https://twitter.com/Fredward3948576/status/2082825450745745852)

  
_Fwd this to someone who trusts AI product recommendations too much._

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*Originally published on [Boys Club](https://paragraph.com/@boysclub/the-fake-brand-that-chatgpt-fell-for)*