Ex Fyre Fest designer says fraudster Billy McFarland, Anna Delvey, Luigi Mangione have one thing in common

Social media is fueling the idolization of bad actors and scammers, including Billy McFarland, Anna Delvey Sorokin and Luigi Mangione, according to ex-Fyre Festival designer Oren Aks.

"We glorify the bad, the scammy, the evil, and we look at those people as heroes." "[I]t's a very worrying societal shift." Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.

Oren Aks, who was employed with Jerry Media when he did graphic design and social media strategy work for Fyre Festival in 2017, told Fox News Digital that, in the age of social media, the public makes icons out of con artists and criminals like Delvey and Mangione. McFarland is no exception, he said.

"We look at them like they're iconic, like, ‘Oh what’s she wearing to court?' And … at a certain point, you're just more obsessed with them as this narrative that you've built rather than who they actually are. … If you met Billy, you wouldn't be impressed," Aks said.