Everyone Is Lying to You for Money

A man sits in darkness with his hand against his face while projected social-media comments surround him. Insults and other online messages appear across the background.

In Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, actor and author Ben McKenzie turns investigator, pulling back the curtain on the cryptocurrency industry and the culture of hype, misinformation, and speculation that fueled its explosive rise. What began as a promise of financial freedom has evolved into a volatile ecosystem rife with fraud and reckless gambling, carrying with it devastating consequences for everyday people.

Through firsthand reporting, expert interviews, and a clear-eyed examination of major collapses and scandals, the film traces how crypto became one of the most aggressively marketed financial products of the modern era—and how warning signs were ignored, dismissed, or deliberately obscured. As fortunes are made and lost, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money asks a sobering question: who benefits from the chaos, and who is left to clean up the damage?

Accessible, urgent, and often darkly ironic, the film is both a cautionary tale and a call for accountability—cutting through the noise to expose a system built on speculation, influence, and belief rather than truth.

After the screening, there will be a panel discussion with Gili Vidan, Assistant Professor of Information Science, and Owen Marshall, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Departments of Science & Technology Studies and Information Science at Cornell.

Free admission! Sponsored by the Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity.

Part of our "Doc Spots" series. Courtesy: Eammon Films

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