"...but the presence of an article that's this subtle raises the distinct possibility of a bunch of copypasta news sites rewriting it without the invisible bits - for audiences that don't know enough to realize how bad these people are."
Frankly, anyone that is a big enough asshole to believe any such story as factual and pay for the thing deserves to lose their money to the fraudster.
But, at least then, the fraud would result in criminal charges.