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The Powerball jackpot has risen to an astronomical $1.9 billion. It seems as if everybody in the entire country is clamoring for a chance to win the life-changing money.
The buzz around this particular jackpot reminds us of when the Powerball rose to a whopping $1.5 billion in 2016, and a pro skateboarder trolled the entire internet to spread his exposure in the form of likes and follows.
Erik Bragg (@thisguysthelimit) is a pro skateboarder, filmmaker, and actor who has grown a large social media following across his accounts.
Bragg saw an opportunity to capitalize on the buzz surrounding the $1.5 billion jackpot back in January of 2016.
He posted a picture (as seen below) of him holding a Powerball ticket with the winning numbers and the following caption:
“OMG I WON $1.5 BILLION!!!!! I’m posting this in case anyone tries to jack me this is proof! Look it up, I bought in chino hills where I grew up! #powerball“
The post spread like wildfire across the internet, but some started to raise questions about the validity of the ticket.
Notice how the letters ‘ABCDE’ are listed vertically along the left side of the ticket? That indicates that Bragg purchased the ticket to play five separate set of numbers on the same ticket, but the image only shows the one winning set of numbers.
The glaring mistake led the internet to conclude that the image had been photoshopped, but not before hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people were exposed.
Some might criticize Bragg for his trick, but isn’t that what the internet is all about? Every influencer type is just trying to ‘fake it til they make it’, and Bragg faked it pretty damn well.
^Bragg turned his fake lottery pic into skateboard deck. He still uses the image as his profile picture on Instagram. Credit: Board Rap
Keep an eye out for similar fakes to circulate in the coming days. It’s unlikely that anybody who wins the jackpot will be so public about their gigantic windfall.
Good luck to all of those that are playing!