Lately it seems like people can’t get enough of a good lie. From true crime documentaries about the fraudulent Fyre Festival or dating app con man the Tinder Swindler to “Inventing Anna,” Shondaland’s dramatization of grifter Anna Sorokin, these stories of liars, grifters and cheats are nearly ubiquitous.
But stories about deception have been around since people first started telling tales around the campfire, so why have these films and TV shows become so popular recently?