The Streisand Effect

Most skeptics will be aware of the Steisand Effect - so called because of the unintended consequence of trying to suppress information - which happened to Barbara Streisand back in 2003 when she tried to suppress pictures of her Malibu mansion.

You might recall that back in May, Mark Honeychurch wrote about a company called EvoRich, warning about Kiwis being involved in a possibly risky multi-level-marketing (MLM) scheme.

Well yesterday we received a document from EvoRich, from the highly professional email address evorichbiznes@gmail.com

The document, not even from their lawyers, was a Microsoft Word document. Word documents always make interesting reading if you go to the Info tab.

OK, so a couple of Russian names, confirming Mark's writing about the company originating in Russia. Interestingly they began the document on the day we published the newsletter, but didn't send it until yesterday. I wonder what triggered that.

Another interesting point - the Company entry "SPecialiST RePack" points to a "cracked" version of Microsoft Word being used to author the document. I'm sure all legit companies use cracked software versions! (Incidentally, it's best practise not to send original documents out - best to convert them to PDF first.)

They're not happy with what we wrote though. They claim that they're not an MLM:

We are not MLM, because we have neither registration fee, nor dividends paid from lowers (sic) levels to upper ones.

There are technical definitions of MLMs but it would appear that their members spend a lot of time trying to recruit their friends and associates into the business. This is a classic characteristic of an MLM.

However, should it be that they're not technically an MLM, so be it.

Mark reminded our readers in the initial newsletter that our Financial Markets Authority (FMA) warned about EvoRich being a potential scam. So, we're not the only ones to think that.

They also complained that Mark used the wrong email address when trying to notify them about their insecure site.

Please be informed that we have 24/7 support desk, which can help you to solve any technical problems, including security. The Ethics Department consider only conflict issues, which violate the Ethics Code.

They complain that:

Please note that the abovementioned publication bears the hallmarks of Defamation, which, under the Delaware Law, is a false statement that does not show and reflect the image of International Marketing Community INC in a favorable light.

The Delaware address is interesting. It would seem that the address is essentially used as a "convenience" address - to give them a presence in the US without actually having to have proper offices.

They have requested that we substantiate our claims - the main one being that they're an MLM when they're not, and that we publish a "contradiction" - presumably a retraction - and delete the original article.

They threaten:

In case of failure with the above request, the Company of International Marketing Community INC will apply to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), as well as judicial and other regulatory authorities in order to protect its reputation and name under the Delaware Law.

All very interesting.

Anyway, I decided to go do some digging myself, to check out what Mark had discovered and see what my impressions of the company were.

My first stop was to try to look at their website. The site is in Russian, but Google Translate allows me to see it in English. The site makes a variety of claims, but doesn't really provide any detail as to how the company works, or how it makes money.

So, next stop was to search for their presentations on YouTube. I found this video which I began watching. The video is introduced by a woman based in South America. But the video then goes continues with a presentation about EvoRich from a person with a Kiwi accent.

The video revealed that the company has a variety of business ventures, including selling financial training, running "Edu Cafe" businesses, and running crypto-currency investment schemes.

The video later revealed that the presenter with the Kiwi accent was Andrew Hawkes, who is based in Australia, living on the Gold Coast.

Now, the name Andrew Hawkes rang a bell with me. I have a local acquaintance who I'm friends with on Facebook. I'll call him Greg (not his real name). He seems to be a bit of a conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer. I've recently responded to some of his posts, trying to set the record straight about COVID and vaccines. One of those posts was pretty long-winded, but one of his friends, Andrew Hawkes, popped up in the discussion, spouting all sorts of typical anti-vax talking points.

I looked up Andrew Hawkes on LinkedIn.

Oh, there he is! At the Academy of Private Investmen (sic).

So, next stop was to look him up on Facebook. I found his profile, and confirmed his mutual friendship with Greg described above. I now understood the connection.

About three years ago Greg was posting on Facebook about this amazing investment opportunity - Skyway Investments. At the time there were many, including me, who tried to warn him about the nature of the investment, and that it was probably a scam. At the time, the FMA was warning people about it. Greg was adamant that this was going to make him rich, and that others should join him. Three years on, I see little evidence that the "investment" has panned out.

So, it seems highly likely that Andrew Hawkes was the vector for introducing Greg to Skyway - now EvoRich (and also NEEW - New Economic Evolution of the World).

Come for the investment advice, stay for the anti-vax and conspiracy theories!

Scrolling through Andrew Hawkes's page on Facebook I came across a Facebook Live video he recorded this past Saturday morning. I thought it would be good to get some insight into what he's promoting by watching his video. Contrary to my expectations about investment advice, what I got was a video full of conspiracy theories and anti-vax messages.

According to Hawkes:

“If you want to go out, and get an experimental shot from a known corrupt industry, then go for it, have at it, but don't expect others to blindly follow you when they've actually done the research themselves, when they actually looked into it, when they've actually listened to scientists who are not being paid by the people who are pushing it…”

He then went on to talk about the Australian Census that's currently underway, and spouted some astounding nonsense about official government documents being addressed to people with their names in ALL CAPS, and that being a separate legal entity to the person being addressed.

Hawkes then talked about COVID never having been isolated, that the Delta variant hadn't been isolated, that COVID is a hoax, that it's all to do with the UN and Agenda 21 or Agenda 30.

He carried on to talk about the government taking people's guns away - referencing the Christchurch Mosque massacre of 2019.

Finally, he thinks that some of those getting the COVID vaccine are getting placebos (seemingly a misunderstanding of the original RCTs), that being vaccinated would allow keys and magnets to stick to your arm, and finally promoting Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine.

He claimed people should "think for themselves" - ironic since he was just regurgitating standard anti-vax talking points!

So, that's Andrew Hawkes - high profile EvoRich promotor for the Australia/New Zealand region!