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Some victims of the syndrome will claim that those questioning their illness causes their condition to worsen. These victims will also creates [[Sock puppet (internet)|sock puppet]] accounts to continue their ruse.<ref name="feldman"/><ref name="swains"/> Feldman's 1998 article in the ''Western Journal of Medicine'' notes a case in which a member of a support group for people with [[chronic fatigue syndrome]] created a husband, sister-in-law, and family friend who simultaneously engaged in arguments with and about the original member; when the amount of attention directed toward the original member became inadequate, she claimed the sister-in-law committed suicide in response to the lack of support.<ref name="feldman2"/><ref name="swains2">Swains, Howard (June 17, 2009). [https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-03/24/reports-of-my-death.aspx?lsd "Reports of My Death"], Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref> Because no money is exchanged and laws are rarely broken, there is little legal recourse to take upon discovery of someone faking illness.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Feldman Marc, Peychers M.E. | year = 2007 | title = Legal Issues Surrounding the Exposure of 'Munchausen by Internet' | url = | journal = Psychosomatics | volume = 48 | issue = 5| pages = 451–452 | doi = 10.1176/appi.psy.48.5.451-a }}</ref>
Some victims of the syndrome will claim that those questioning their illness causes their condition to worsen. These victims will also creates [[Sock puppet (internet)|sock puppet]] accounts to continue their ruse.<ref name="feldman"/><ref name="swains"/> Feldman's 1998 article in the ''Western Journal of Medicine'' notes a case in which a member of a support group for people with [[chronic fatigue syndrome]] created a husband, sister-in-law, and family friend who simultaneously engaged in arguments with and about the original member; when the amount of attention directed toward the original member became inadequate, she claimed the sister-in-law committed suicide in response to the lack of support.<ref name="feldman2"/><ref name="swains2">Swains, Howard (June 17, 2009). [https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-03/24/reports-of-my-death.aspx?lsd "Reports of My Death"], Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref> Because no money is exchanged and laws are rarely broken, there is little legal recourse to take upon discovery of someone faking illness.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Feldman Marc, Peychers M.E. | year = 2007 | title = Legal Issues Surrounding the Exposure of 'Munchausen by Internet' | url = | journal = Psychosomatics | volume = 48 | issue = 5| pages = 451–452 | doi = 10.1176/appi.psy.48.5.451-a }}</ref>


Such dramatic situations often polarize online communities. Many members feel ashamed for believing elaborate lies, while others remain staunch supporters. <ref name="feldman"/><ref name="kruse">Kruse, Michael (February 28, 2010). "Death and Betrayal in Chat Room", ''The St. Petersburg Times'' (Florida), p. 1A.</ref> Feldman admits that an element of [[Sadomasochism|sadism]] may be evident in some of the more egregious abuses of trust.<ref name="swains">Swains, Howard (March 25, 2009). [https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-03/24/qa-munchausen-by-internet.aspx "Q&A: Munchausen by Internet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110065513/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-03/24/qa-munchausen-by-internet.aspx |date=2010-01-10 }}, Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref><ref name="shreve"/><ref name="russo">Russo, Francine (June 26, 2001). [http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-06-26/news/cybersickness/1 "Cybersickness: Munchausen by Internet Breeds a Generation of Fakers"], <ref name="joinson"/>
Such dramatic situations often polarize online communities. Many members feel ashamed for believing elaborate lies, while others remain staunch supporters. <ref name="feldman"/><ref name="kruse">Kruse, Michael (February 28, 2010). "Death and Betrayal in Chat Room", ''The St. Petersburg Times'' (Florida), p. 1A.</ref> Feldman admits that an element of [[Sadomasochism|sadism]] may be evident in some of the more egregious abuses of trust.<ref name="swains">Swains, Howard (March 25, 2009). [https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-03/24/qa-munchausen-by-internet.aspx "Q&A: Munchausen by Internet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110065513/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-03/24/qa-munchausen-by-internet.aspx |date=2010-01-10 }}, Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref><ref name="shreve"/><ref name="russo">Russo, Francine (June 26, 2001). [http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-06-26/news/cybersickness/1 "Cybersickness: Munchausen by Internet Breeds a Generation of Fakers"]</ref>, <ref name="joinson"/>


Other perpetrators react by issuing general accusations of dishonesty to everyone, following the exposure of such fabrications. The support groups themselves often bar discussion about the fraudulent perpetrator, in order to avoid further argument and negativity. Many forums do not recover, often splintering or shutting down.<ref name="shreve"/><ref name="russo"/> In 2004, members of the blog hosting service [[LiveJournal]] established a forum dedicated to investigating cases of members of online communities dying—sometimes while online. Writer Howard Swains referred to the online deaths as "pseuicides" in [[Wired.com]].<ref name="swains2"/> ''New Zealand PC World Magazine'' called Munchausen by Internet "cybermunch", and those who posed online "cybermunchers".<ref>Todd, Belinda (October 21, 2002).[http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/ht/00547454259E27A3CC256C520079F1F9 "Faking It"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717133932/http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/ht/00547454259E27A3CC256C520079F1F9 |date=2011-07-17 }}, ''New Zealand PC World Magazine''. Retrieved on July 29, 2009.</ref> In 2007 ''The LiveJournal'' forum reported that, of the deaths reported to them, about 10% were real.<ref name="swains3">Swains, Howard (March 5, 2007). "Fake deaths thriving: Online tragedy can be greatly exaggerated", ''The Gazette'' (Montreal), p. D1.</ref>
Other perpetrators react by issuing general accusations of dishonesty to everyone, following the exposure of such fabrications. The support groups themselves often bar discussion about the fraudulent perpetrator, in order to avoid further argument and negativity. Many forums do not recover, often splintering or shutting down.<ref name="shreve"/><ref name="russo"/> In 2004, members of the blog hosting service [[LiveJournal]] established a forum dedicated to investigating cases of members of online communities dying—sometimes while online. Writer Howard Swains referred to the online deaths as "pseuicides" in [[Wired.com]].<ref name="swains2"/> ''New Zealand PC World Magazine'' called Munchausen by Internet "cybermunch", and those who posed online "cybermunchers".<ref>Todd, Belinda (October 21, 2002).[http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/ht/00547454259E27A3CC256C520079F1F9 "Faking It"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717133932/http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/ht/00547454259E27A3CC256C520079F1F9 |date=2011-07-17 }}, ''New Zealand PC World Magazine''. Retrieved on July 29, 2009.</ref> In 2007 ''The LiveJournal'' forum reported that, of the deaths reported to them, about 10% were real.<ref name="swains3">Swains, Howard (March 5, 2007). "Fake deaths thriving: Online tragedy can be greatly exaggerated", ''The Gazette'' (Montreal), p. D1.</ref>

Revision as of 18:51, 21 July 2020

Munchausen by Internet is a pattern of behavior akin to Munchausen syndrome (renamed factitious disorder imposed on self), a psychiatric disorder, wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma to draw attention, sympathy, or reassurance to themselves. In Munchausen by Internet, users seek attention by feigning illnesses in online venues. It has been described in medical literature as a manifestation of factitious disorder imposed on self, or if claiming illness of a child or other family member, factitious disorder imposed on another.[1]

Characteristics

Background

Reports of users who deceive Internet forum participants by portraying themselves as gravely ill or as victims of violence first appeared in the 1990s due to the relative newness of Internet communications. The pattern was identified in 1998 by psychiatrist Marc Feldman, who created the term "Münchausen by Internet" in 2000.[1]

Factitious disorders are described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR (DSM) as psychological disorders involving the production of non-existent physical or psychological ailments to earn sympathy. These illnesses are feigned not for monetary gain or to avoid inconvenient situations, but to attract compassion or to control others.[2]

When the symptoms of another person, such as a child or an elderly parent, are purposely induced by the caregiver, it is called factitious disorder imposed on another, or Munchausen syndrome by proxy.[3]

In Munchausen by Internet, a person pretends to be gravely ill, to gain sympathy from a group whose sole reason for existence is support. Health care professionals, with their limited time, greater medical knowledge, and tendency to be more skeptical in their diagnoses, may be less likely to provide that support.[1][4][5]

Causes

Feldman has admitted in several interviews that he has been the victim of people who email him to explain psychiatric symptoms, only to divulge eventually that they created it all to fool a doctor. For prolonged cases, he states the impetus for such behavior is the "longing for nurturing, sympathy, care and concern that they feel unable to get in appropriate ways," and that the admiration of forum members is a strong motivator to continue.[6] As manipulation is integral to most cases, the need to control others to feel as if the perpetrator is in control of his or her own life is apparent, as is the pre-existence of underlying personality disorders. Many people who present factitious disorders crave sympathy and support because it was notably absent in childhood.[7]

In an article published in The Guardian, Steve Jones, credited the anonymity of the Internet for impeding people's abilities to realize when someone is lying.[8][9] Online interaction has only been possible since the 1980s, steadily growing over the years.[10][11]ref name="caspi">Caspi Avner, Gorsky Paul (2006). "Online Deception: Prevalence, Motivation, and Emotion". CyberPsychology & Behavior. 9: 54–59. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9.54. PMID 16497118.</ref>

Notable cases

Feldman's article in the Western Journal of Medicine was picked up by The New York Times in a story by Denise Grady, who described three cases of Internet forum members who were "incorrigible fakers".[6] These include a woman with a professed eating disorder who posted to a support group saying she was reporting from an intensive care unit via her laptop computer, and claimed to have had a stroke while online, to be followed by her mother's posts declaring that she too had to be hospitalized; the original poster's father purportedly continued to update the online group. In another example, a teenager frequenting a forum for mothers with premature infants – some of whom had endured lengthy, expensive, and painful medical procedures, or had died – claimed to have given birth to a premature baby and expressed her fears for her own child, after which she received support and sympathy from the 400-member group. The teenager confided to the group that her baby had also died, and soon after returned to the forum to announce she was again pregnant and feared her baby would be premature, which it turned out to be; more frail this time than the first. Forum members eventually became unsympathetic with her vivid descriptions of surgeries and confronted her. Grady also addresses a similar confrontation that occurred when a man who claimed to be a monk with end-stage cancer posted long descriptions of his trials and struggles with facing death alone, eventually arousing the suspicions of other forum members who were not convinced someone so sick could correspond with so much vitality.[12][6]

Some deceptions may take many months to unravel, such as a case that lasted over a year involving a 15-year-old boy participating in an online support group for people enduring debilitating migraine headaches. Some of the group's members had been on disability pension or gone through drug regimens for years to no avail. The boy represented his mother as deaf and his father as an alcoholic, and he reported seizures and hemophilia as complicating conditions. However, he also claimed to be a medical student who performed as a drummer in a band.[13] Resources of the forum became constantly directed at the boy, especially when some members expressed doubt about his story. The boy's mother—previously noted by him to be neglectful—logged on to post that questions about his conditions would worsen them; when they did not cease, he left the group, saying the atmosphere violated "the spirit of the internet".[14]

Internet venues unrelated to medical issues have also been the audience for such cases. A member of an online fan club for the musical Rent divulged numerous illnesses that caused her to slip in and out of comas, prompting some cast members to send sympathy cards. When other fan club members expressed their concern, even purchasing airline tickets to visit the sick woman, she reported that she had immediately improved.[13]

From 1999 to 2001 a 40-year-old homemaker named Debbie Swenson perpetrated a ruse under the identity Kaycee Nicole, a 19-year-old woman in Kansas who shared the details of her battles with leukemia online. The Guardian newspaper reported that millions of Internet users read the fictional blog, as well as Swenson's own blog, in which she posed as Kaycee Nicole's mother, describing the trials of living with an intelligent and optimistic daughter who was dying.[8] On May 16, 2001, Kaycee Nicole's death of an aneurysm was announced, shocking her readers and causing them intense grief. Soon however, Swenson caused skepticism in online communities. Although many cards and gifts had been previously sent, she refused to accept more. People began to learn that no one named Kaycee Nicole lived in Kansas, had been enrolled in schools, or admitted to local hospitals, and no obituary had been printed.[10] The photo representing the girl was found to be that of a basketball player from Gracemont, Oklahoma, who was alive.[15] After repeated questioning, Swenson posted that she had woven the stories of three cancer patients to create the character of Kaycee Nicole, who had never existed.[8]

Discovery and impact on online communities

Forum members are frequently banned from some online forums. Denise Grady noted in The New York Times that a woman with the eating disorder moved to a group for sexual abuse survivors, then to another where she claimed to be dying of AIDS.[6]

An article in The Weekend Australian highlighted an example of this in 2003: a woman in London admitted to belonging to online support forums dedicated to helping members cope with migraines, grieving over dead children, and breast cancer, all at the same time. She told a psychiatrist that she would study a specific malady and subsequently present herself with its symptoms; her time at each forum followed a daily schedule.[16] Others disappear and simply stop posting, such as the monk who claimed to have cancer.[12]

Some victims of the syndrome will claim that those questioning their illness causes their condition to worsen. These victims will also creates sock puppet accounts to continue their ruse.[1][7] Feldman's 1998 article in the Western Journal of Medicine notes a case in which a member of a support group for people with chronic fatigue syndrome created a husband, sister-in-law, and family friend who simultaneously engaged in arguments with and about the original member; when the amount of attention directed toward the original member became inadequate, she claimed the sister-in-law committed suicide in response to the lack of support.[12][17] Because no money is exchanged and laws are rarely broken, there is little legal recourse to take upon discovery of someone faking illness.[18]

Such dramatic situations often polarize online communities. Many members feel ashamed for believing elaborate lies, while others remain staunch supporters. [1][19] Feldman admits that an element of sadism may be evident in some of the more egregious abuses of trust.[7][4][13], [10]

Other perpetrators react by issuing general accusations of dishonesty to everyone, following the exposure of such fabrications. The support groups themselves often bar discussion about the fraudulent perpetrator, in order to avoid further argument and negativity. Many forums do not recover, often splintering or shutting down.[4][13] In 2004, members of the blog hosting service LiveJournal established a forum dedicated to investigating cases of members of online communities dying—sometimes while online. Writer Howard Swains referred to the online deaths as "pseuicides" in Wired.com.[17] New Zealand PC World Magazine called Munchausen by Internet "cybermunch", and those who posed online "cybermunchers".[20] In 2007 The LiveJournal forum reported that, of the deaths reported to them, about 10% were real.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Feldman MD (July 2000). "Munchausen by Internet: detecting factitious illness and crisis on the Internet". South. Med. J. 93 (7): 669–72. doi:10.1097/00007611-200093070-00006. PMID 10923952.
  2. ^ Factitious disorders Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR (Psychiatry Online). Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
  3. ^ Appendix B: Criteria Sets and Axes Provided for Further Study: Factitious disorder by proxy Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR (Psychiatry Online). Retrieved on August 18, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Shreve, Jenn (June 6, 2001). "They Think They Feel Your Pain", Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
  5. ^ Stephenson, Joan (October 21, 1998). "Patient Pretenders Weave Tangled "Web" of Deceit". Journal of the American Medical Association, 280:1297. Archived from the original on December 15, 2004. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d Grady, Denise (April 23, 1998)."Faking Pain and Suffering In Internet Support Groups", The New York Times, Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c Swains, Howard (March 25, 2009). "Q&A: Munchausen by Internet" Archived 2010-01-10 at the Wayback Machine, Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
  8. ^ a b c Johnson, Bobbie (May 28, 2001)."The Short Life of Kaycee Nicole", The Guardian. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
  9. ^ See also: Jones, Steve Computer-Mediated Communication and Community: Introduction Archived 1999-08-24 at archive.today: Introductory chapter to CyberSociety (1995), Sage Publications. Retrieved on August 16, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c Joinson Adam, Dietz-Uhler Beth (2002). "Explanations for the Perpetration of and Reactions to Deception in a Virtual Community". Social Science Computer Review. 20: 275–289. doi:10.1177/08939302020003005.
  11. ^ See also Danet, B., Ruedenberg, L., & Rosenbaum-Tamari, Y. (1998). " 'Hmmm ... Where’s that smoke coming from?' Writing, Play and Performance on Internet Relay Chat. In F. Sudweeks, M. McLaughlin, & S. Rafaeli (Eds.), Network and Netplay: Virtual Groups on the Internet (pp. 41-76). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  12. ^ a b c Feldman M, Bibby M, Crites S (Jun 1998). "'Virtual' Factitious Disorders and Munchausen by Proxy". Western Journal of Medicine. 168 (6): 537–540. PMC 1305082. PMID 9656006.
  13. ^ a b c d Russo, Francine (June 26, 2001). "Cybersickness: Munchausen by Internet Breeds a Generation of Fakers"
  14. ^ Stein, Anne (February 23, 2003). "Fakers Invading Online Support - It Comes at the Expense of Ailing People Who Rely on Help From Groups", The Chicago Tribune, p. 8.
  15. ^ Associated, The (2001-05-26). "Girl's illness was Web hoax; The Topeka Capital-Journal; May 26, 2001". Cjonline.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  16. ^ Du Venage, Gavin (July 12, 2003). "Virtual Illness", The Weekend Australian, p. C13.
  17. ^ a b Swains, Howard (June 17, 2009). "Reports of My Death", Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
  18. ^ Feldman Marc, Peychers M.E. (2007). "Legal Issues Surrounding the Exposure of 'Munchausen by Internet'". Psychosomatics. 48 (5): 451–452. doi:10.1176/appi.psy.48.5.451-a.
  19. ^ Kruse, Michael (February 28, 2010). "Death and Betrayal in Chat Room", The St. Petersburg Times (Florida), p. 1A.
  20. ^ Todd, Belinda (October 21, 2002)."Faking It" Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, New Zealand PC World Magazine. Retrieved on July 29, 2009.
  21. ^ Swains, Howard (March 5, 2007). "Fake deaths thriving: Online tragedy can be greatly exaggerated", The Gazette (Montreal), p. D1.

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