fraudience

Blend of fraud +‎ audience

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɔːdɪəns/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔdiəns/, /ˈfɹɑdiəns/

fraudience (plural fraudiences)

1. Audiences on infomercials who, although supposedly unbiased and uninformed about the product, are in fact paid to cheer, gasp, and exclaim their joy and wonder about the product in question on cue.
   • 1988, DeWitt Wallace, Lila Acheson Wallace, editor, The Reader's Digest‎, volume 132, Reader's Digest Association, page 36:

     Laugh track: fraudience —Hugh Burr

   • 2011 August 4, Geoff Tibballs, edited by Geoff Tibballs, The Mammoth Book of Insults‎, Little, Brown Book Group, →ISBN:

     Fraudience – A group of overly enthusiastic spectators positioned to cheerlead the performer; a tactic often used by politicians.

   • 2023 August 5 (last accessed), “Fraudience: definition of Fraudience and synonyms of Fraudience”, in sensagent - dictionary‎, archived from the original on August 5, 2023:

     The term fraudience is a portmanteau derived from the terms fraud and audience. It generally applies to audiences on infomercials who, although supposedly unbiased and uninformed about the product, are in fact paid to cheer, gasp, and exclaim their joy and wonder about the product in question on cue. It is a marketing tool used to help build the impression in the minds of viewers that other people find the product to be of high quality and usefulness, in order to sway would-be buyers.