Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story
5.0/5
Critic Rating
Coco Berthmann became internet-famous by sharing her story of surviving sex trafficking as a young child growing up in Germany. She was sheltered and supported by families in Utah, where her faith and fame intertwined. But in 2022, Coco was arrested for raising money for a fake cancer diagnosis, and people began to doubt everything that she had ever said. Is her life story truly one big elaborate lie? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sara Ganim and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning showrunner Karen Given investigate in Dear Media’s first true crime podcast.
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Laura Jane Standley • The Atlantic • Dec 25, 2023
"The hosts Sara Ganim and Karen Given hunt down every salacious detail...Although droves of podcasts remind people that the internet is an engine for easy deception, this series stands out in noting that Berthmann’s falsehoods don’t mean that she lied about everything—or that she wasn’t a victim herself."
Score: 5
Mara Davis • Paste Magazine • Oct 16, 2023
"You’ll learn that a lot of it is a grift and she is not who she says it is. There’s even a crazy Celine Dion storyline. Turns out you can make this stuff up."
Score: 5
Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter • Aug 14, 2023
"Coco’s story, turns out, is too unbelievable to be true. She should have been a fiction writer. It’s one hell of a story."
Score: 5
Hollie Richardson • The Guardian • Aug 3, 2023
"In this 10-parter, host Sara Ganin investigates – but the most surprising discovery..."
