Glasgow's immersive Wonka event explained: Deep State conspiracies, misleading AI generated images, 'scam' theories and failed crowdfunders

Social media has lit up as folk from across the world look on in bewilderment at the disastrous 'Wonka-inspired' event held in Glasgow which is being branded as a scam by both parents who took their families to the event and an international audience discovering the photos online.

Held in a sparsely decorated space at the Box Hub Warehouse in Whiteinch, the event, inspired by the release of the Wonka film, charged families for entry. The event was promoted with AI-generated images online. The reality was fair from a chocolate paradise.

The event was cancelled a few hours in amidst crying kids and raging parents. Police were called, such was the difference between what was advertised online and the reality families were faced with.

The event was headed by 'immersive events' company 'House of Illuminati' founded by Billy Coull, the sole director. He is the author of books no longer available on Amazon like 'Operation Inoculation: Unveiling the A Conspiratorial Journey into Vaccination Truths Deep State Conspiracy', 'Shadows of Deception: Unveiling the Deep State Conspiracy', and 'Shadows of Power: Unveiling the Secrets of a Global Conspiracy'.

All the aforementioned novels, 3 out of 17 released between July and August last year, feature AI artwork as their front cover, and given the fact they were all released in July of 2023, faced scrutiny from readers who suspected the provenance of the material offered for sale.

The Wonka event is part of a tangled web of companies from the Glasgow-based self-styled businessman. Billy Coull ran a website called 'Empowerity' - which is now deleted but can be viewed through cached data on the resourceful Wayback Machine - on the website Coull boasts of numerous qualifications as he promotes his services as a type of business coach.

The site reads: "At empowerity, I help people live a phenomenal life by providing the tools, knowledge and information that can enable even average Joe start and grow a widely profitable businesses."

Running since 2017, according to the website, the list of accomplishments and qualifications states that Billy has a Doctorate in 3 subjects: Psychology, Theocentric Psychology, and Philosophy. The 35-year-old also claims to have a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Stirling.

Billy previously ran a Community Interest Company (CIC) in Glasgow, the Gowanbank Hub, for less than a year, using money from in-person and online crowdfunding (from which he hoped to raise £60k). It was styled as a food bank, although the self-described goal and services undertaken by the CIC was unclear.

The CIC's mission statement was: "Our purpose is to provide support to vulnerable people. We also act as a trusted voice for the vulnerable people and families we serve. It is vital that we have integrity. "We work quickly, effectively and efficiently to support our service users. We remain independent and trusted by our service users. Our approach is to be aware, to be focused and act only in the best interest of our service users."

Gowanbank Hub CIC was incorporated on April 26 2021 and dissolved less than a year later on January 11 2022. It's not the only business linked with Billy Coull.

According to Companies House, Billy Coull is the director behind several companies: House of Illuminati, that produced the Wonka event, Billy De Savage ltd, through which he published his books, and Nexuma Holdings, through which he operates an 'advertising agency'.

Since the viral Wonka event disaster, Billy Coull has deleted his LinkedIn and 'Empowerity' website - as well as scrubbing clean the House of Illuminati Twitter page.

Police confirm that they did not attend the Wonka event over the weekend, they were called after the event was cancelled and 'advice was given' to the caller.

To take a virtual tour around the event check out our gallery: A World of Pure Cancellation.