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Fake Political Biographies

A very good friend from my college days who majored in English paid for his London house from ghostwritting political biographies for relatively famous UK politicians.    He would often brag about these biographies because he would always insert a specific paragraph in each book, a little easter egg of his own.  He said no one ever noticed because in most cases the politician read their book quickly.  My friend would get a bunch of notes and elaborate the story for the politician.   

It was a well-paid gig, a sure thing, and editors loved him because he wrote well and worked with the publisher's editors.   He told me that he would get notes on the book from the politician and that all the stories were "true", maybe slightly embellished but truthful.

Now in the US South Dakota's Governor Kristi Noem is publishing her biography.   In the book, she is now famous for having shot her puppy (who may have been a 14-month-old hunting dog) and also a few old horses.    Today it emerged that she recounts two meetings:  The French President (Macron) and the leader of North Korea.

Two problems with these events, as far as the French President, he has no memory of meeting any US governors.  As for the leader of North Korea, when would this meeting have taken place?   Clearly 100% invention by the ghostwriter, he probably assumed that no one would check, on the Governor's stories.  This book was commissioned almost two years ago when the Governor had no Vice Presidential ambitions.    The objective of these biographies is to make money, PACs will buy them in bulk and provide a way for the politician to profit from the book.   I am not joking here, the publisher makes the book with a small advance and a big cut to the author for "guaranteed" sales.   

Ron DeSantis did the same thing, his book sold millions of copies, all bought in bulk by PACs, it generated a nice little income for the governor...Noem's ghostwriter seems to have taken additional liberties with the Governor's achievements.    I guess it happens, it is funny.

Note;   The books bought by the PACs are almost all destroyed.  Some are signed by the "author"




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