Family with 10 children turns out to be a hoax.

[luckystone]

Gosh. That is a LONG time. I didn't think it had been going on that long, I missed the part that said 11 years ago when I was 11. That's pretty crazy. I googled the name and there is a science student in that state which could be her, or could be why people think it's her. I'm surprised she'd use her real last name.

I did some things on the internet as a teen which I'm not proud of (sockpuppets, that sort of thing, all on dumb boards about things nobody cared about, it's really embarrassing) but at about 18, coincidentally when I got my first boyfriend, I found I just gradually lost interest. I'll occasionally make up a new account on boards now if I want to post something private or potentially identifiable, but that's it. I can't imagine doing it so much for so long. Even if you're stuck into it you'd think something would happen that would distract them. I found my real life way too entertaining and time-consuming. Now I'm horrified I ever did it lol even though I thought I was quite grown-up at 17. I'd expect studying medicine would use up too much time for this too.

[Alecto]

Munchausen by Internet was also my thought, the doctor who researched this and made the term popular (unfortunately, I can't remember his name and website) had a story up about a self-help group online who was exploited by a person with Munchausen, who created a lot of drama around herself, always a new crisis when attention got low, up to faking her own death, when the hoax was finally discovered. So the people on this group were traumatized yet again.

Sadly, people with Munchausen are also sick, but in a... sick way. Most of them know that it is wrong and will hurt others, but they are not able to resist the urge to divert attention to themselves by faking illness.

I remember this article. They interviewed one of my livejournal friends for it. I used to be fairly active on a community there that sniffed out fake deaths and illnesses.

[lilwriter85]

That hoax was really fucked up. Scams and hoaxes like that have been happening for a long time. The Internet has become another method for assholes to carry out their scams and hoaxes. I recently watched the documentary, The Woman Who Wasn't There. It is about Alicia Esteve Head who pretended to be a 9/11 survivor. She found a online forum that was set up for 9/11 survivors. She posted a bogus story about in one of the towers. She claimed that her arm was severly burned and she claimed that that her fiancee was killed in the other tower. She used the name of real victim as her "fiancee". She carried out her lie for a few years until the New York Times investigated her.

A couple of years back, there was an incident in which woman claimed that her daughter had cancer. She made a caringbridge site for her daughter and she got donations through it. Eventually it was proven to be a scam.

[Talitha Cumi]

A little while later I started seeing the picture on various humor blogs, in a "hey, look at this" kind of way....no problem, someone saw it on FB and sent it in....then I saw it where someone was claiming that they grew the stupid carrot! Why take a pic of a carrot and say it's yours?!? It's a CARROT!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[formergothardite]

I have been known to forget my name. Not only my last name which I have had for 18 years but the one I have had my whole stinking life. :doh: I don't have time for lies, I have a hard enough time remembering the truth.

I routinely forget my birthday. And people think that you are attempting some sort of identity theft when you have to give your birthday a couple times before you get it right. :lol:

[Miss M]

I remember this article. They interviewed one of my livejournal friends for it. I used to be fairly active on a community there that sniffed out fake deaths and illnesses.

Is the doctor the one mentioned in this article?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... munchausen

[Cran]

It wasn't this article, but it mentions the doctor I was thinking of, Marc Feldman.

[Alecto]

Is the doctor the one mentioned in this article?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... munchausen

Yup, that's the one.

[ricky_ticky]

A couple of years back, there was an incident in which woman claimed that her daughter had cancer. She made a caringbridge site for her daughter and she got donations through it. Eventually it was proven to be a scam.

I belong to a message board that recently fell victim to this type of faker. She pretended to have a daughter with cancer, with a caring bridge site and all. She apparently gathered information about diagnosis and treatment, including meds, side effects, protocols, procedures, surgery, radiation. Her daughter's case was seemingly incredibly tragic and difficult. The most terrible complications would take place, then the daughter would improve, then another set-back, then some hope, and finally the daughter died rather suddenly. The whole group was devastated because the mother just up and disappeared after the death of her daughter.

The list owners did some research to try to find this woman and offer her real-life condolences, but she had simply vanished. Turns out she had been a regular poster on more than one peds cancer site, had offered advice and opinion on medical decisions, (and much emotional support.) Both message boards were utterly flattened by her deception. Measures had to be put into place to verify that potential new members actually do have a child with cancer. I think that most people there will be very careful about trusting the newbies until they can prove themselves, somehow.

[The Archivist]

Just fyi, I'd avoid the comments on the warriorelihoax blog - it's obviously the first rodeo for most the people there, and they are acting like morons.

[Elle]

That hoax was really fucked up. Scams and hoaxes like that have been happening for a long time. The Internet has become another method for assholes to carry out their scams and hoaxes. I recently watched the documentary, The Woman Who Wasn't There. It is about Alicia Esteve Head who pretended to be a 9/11 survivor. She found a online forum that was set up for 9/11 survivors. She posted a bogus story about in one of the towers. She claimed that her arm was severly burned and she claimed that that her fiancee was killed in the other tower. She used the name of real victim as her "fiancee". She carried out her lie for a few years until the New York Times investigated her.

Alicia Head has massive brass balls. She didn't just set up a forum. She see up organizations and won awards and was a major physical presence. She put her face AND name out there. I feel bad for the friend she yanked around for so long all on lies.

[Elle]

I belong to a message board that recently fell victim to this type of faker. She pretended to have a daughter with cancer, with a caring bridge site and all. She apparently gathered information about diagnosis and treatment, including meds, side effects, protocols, procedures, surgery, radiation. Her daughter's case was seemingly incredibly tragic and difficult. The most terrible complications would take place, then the daughter would improve, then another set-back, then some hope, and finally the daughter died rather suddenly. The whole group was devastated because the mother just up and disappeared after the death of her daughter.

The list owners did some research to try to find this woman and offer her real-life condolences, but she had simply vanished. Turns out she had been a regular poster on more than one peds cancer site, had offered advice and opinion on medical decisions, (and much emotional support.) Both message boards were utterly flattened by her deception. Measures had to be put into place to verify that potential new members actually do have a child with cancer. I think that most people there will be very careful about trusting the newbies until they can prove themselves, somehow.

I'm not linking since I don't want to drag a real family into things when it comes to doubt, but my husband's step-dad's sister (so I guess his step-aunt? anyway, she and I talked about this) personally knows the writer of a blog about a little girl who just got cancer for the 3rd time and she's just 7. If she wasn't able to verify the situation, I'd be weary. My husband also is casually acquainted with the family, but hasn't really had contact in years. They are the sort of filthy rich family who can take Hawaiian vacations for a month at a time (as they do a couple times a year), and the girl's grandfather is arguably the top in the world for his profession (makes custom boards for the athletes who use them) and makes seven figures a year. But now they're raising money to travel overseas for a more aggressive treatment than they can get in the US. Their insurance will cover the treatment overseas since no one in the US will do it, but the family raising money for travel for medical while still planning another trip to Hawaii isn't sitting well with some people I know who know them. It's like they will spend money on fun stuff, but won't sacrifice yet another trip to Hawaii.

Anyway I wonder how many people think they're a fake family. If I didn't know people who knew them, including one who's a personal friend, I'd think it was fake too, even with lots of pictures. It's one of those blogs where the dad is a pastor who claims cancer for kids is proof of god's love because it gives god the chance to show live by curing, or by calling the kid "home." When parents make a kid sick to heal them, it's a crime. When a god does it, it's proof of love?

[luckystone]

Has anyone heard of the Anthony Godby Johnson story?

It's like the first case of Munchausen by internet, before there was any internet.

[mirele]

Has anyone heard of the Anthony Godby Johnson story?

It's like the first case of Munchausen by internet, before there was any internet.

Wikipedia has a whole list of fake memoirs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_memoirs

Man, there are a LOT.

[luckystone]

Wikipedia has a whole list of fake memoirs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_memoirs

Man, there are a LOT.

Yeah it's pretty nutty. It's interesting how most of them had pre-book television appearances and stuff, which suggests they were wanting long-term attention rather than just publishing one fake book (which would be a bit different to the ongoing online stuff).

[notsocommon]

People will steal just about any pictures! A few years ago my mom grew a carrot in her garden that looked like the lower torso and legs of a person (think 2 carrots with one carrot top), my kids wanted to take a picture of it, then my sister put the carrot on facebook. A little while later I started seeing the picture on various humor blogs, in a "hey, look at this" kind of way....no problem, someone saw it on FB and sent it in....then I saw it where someone was claiming that they grew the stupid carrot! Why take a pic of a carrot and say it's yours?!? It's a CARROT!

I think I have seen that carrot. :P

[JesusPony]

That carrot sounds familiar to me, too. This is just hilarious.

[formergothardite]

I think I've seen the carrot too!

[sassyNoz47]

I have dec 2003 baby I was on a baby center message board for 12/03 babies. One of the girls from that board did lose her baby to cancer in 09/04 I got caught up in a few blogs during the Allie being sick period. Some I kept following...eventually I read a blurb about this Eli.. the dads story was tragic it really seemed to unreal to be real. Many children from different women 2 sets of twins..to different moms abandoned the babies with him.. he was on so many different boards and such , no one questioned him. He ended up sick himself and his wife Dana who was a surgeon at age 30 - was taught how to give meds at home (again shes a dr) none of it made sense still I followed these people. Mothers day post was tragic but I had a hard time believing it. Then our local news had a story about the Eli hoax a foundation here knew about him and a local woman had reached out to the family and made Eli a blanket that was sent to his aunt Emily... I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I went back to Eli's fb page it was gone..... I googled and found it mentioned in the Mwop blog, and then found the hoax page . I rarely fall for this stuff but this went on for sooo many years, I still don't believe this Emily person acted alone and started this at age 11..shes 22/23 now its been 10 yrs of making up these fictional people. There is so much more to the story we will probably never know. But to think I actually sat and cried a few minutes over the death of "Dana" on my special Mothers day (my daughter was staying over with my week old first grand baby) make me just want to hurt someone..smh

edit because i was thinking Dana's age when i wrote down emily's

[Nothing2CHere]

Bumping this thread because it turns out this Emily gal is from Ohio, and there was a story about this hoax on the front page of my local paper today. I thought folks might be interested in reading it: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... ernet.html

[mockingbird]

Bumping this thread because it turns out this Emily gal is from Ohio, and there was a story about this hoax on the front page of my local paper today. I thought folks might be interested in reading it: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... ernet.html

Was just going to post this. Interesting that she withdrew from med school BEFORE this all came out. I wonder what is going on, though I find it very hard to be sympathetic. I would not want her as my doctor... you know maybe if she had done this a few years ago and hadn't repeated it, then whatever, but she was faking her fake kid's cancer while pursuing a professional career in medicine. This type of thing is very insulting to me, because it cheapens the real experience. I've had cancer and surprise surprise, it's not all fun and games nor a stunt to creatively raise money for research (one of Emily's comments on her motivations) :roll: I don't know how she could feel empathy for and RESPECT her patients.

I have doctors in the area and let's be honest, I would have had a fun time meeting her if she was rotating while I was a patient :lol:

ETA: It is too bad she couldn't direct this energy into a more appropriate outlet such as a novel. I think she would probably be a good writer. I am very on top of all my characters' backstories like she is, but I don't go pretending they are real on the internet.

[pixydust]

Jumping in to say I'm glad so many people got to see the carrot! haha!

BTW, I've always wondered about people who write fake autobiographies, you have a good story in your head, why not just write it as fiction or "inspired by true events"? People will read a good book if it's real or not.

[Dinorah]

Wow, she created 71 fake FB profiles? That's just so twisted.

[Sola]

I find it ironic that the article mentions Mckmama and how she was suspicious and thought it was fake.

Who's the biggest fake of them all? Mckmama!

[theologygeek]

Here's a bit of Zsu trivia. lol Two of the kids in that fake story are Tertia's kids. Tertia is a South African blogger. Zsu's blog post about IVF that first brought her all that visibility and put her and the PP on the map was about Tertia. Small world.