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'''Munchausen by Internet''' is a pattern of behavior akin to ] (renamed ]), a ], wherein those affected feign ], illness, or ] to draw attention, sympathy, or reassurance to themselves. In Munchausen by ], 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, ].<ref name="feldman"/>

== 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.<ref name="feldman"/>

]s are described in the '']'' (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.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724112535/http://www.psychiatryonline.com/content.aspx?aID=9658 |date=2011-07-24 }}, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR (Psychiatry Online). Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref>

When the symptoms of another person, such as a child or an elderly parent, are purposely induced by the caregiver, it is called ], or Munchausen syndrome by proxy.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001002806/http://www.psychiatryonline.com/content.aspx?aID=5410&searchStr=factitious+disorder+by+proxy |date=2011-10-01 }}, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-IV-TR (Psychiatry Online). Retrieved on August 18, 2009.</ref>

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.<ref name="feldman">{{cite journal |author=Feldman MD |title=Munchausen by Internet: detecting factitious illness and crisis on the Internet |journal=South. Med. J. |volume=93 |issue=7 |pages=669–72 |date=July 2000 |pmid=10923952 |doi= 10.1097/00007611-200093070-00006|url=}}</ref><ref name="shreve">Shreve, Jenn (June 6, 2001). , Wired.com. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Stephenson |first=Joan |date=October 21, 1998 |url=http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/280/15/1297 |title=Patient Pretenders Weave Tangled "Web" of Deceit |publisher=Journal of the American Medical Association, 280:1297 |accessdate=July 28, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041215195902/http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/280/15/1297 |archivedate=December 15, 2004 }}</ref>

==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.<ref name="grady"/> 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 ]s. Many people who present factitious disorders crave sympathy and support because it was notably absent in childhood.<ref name="swains"/>

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.<ref name="johnson"/><ref name="jones">See also: Jones, Steve {{webarchive|url=https://archive.is/19990824184755/http://info.comm.uic.edu/jones/cybersoc.html |date=1999-08-24 }}: Introductory chapter to ''CyberSociety'' (1995), Sage Publications. Retrieved on August 16, 2009.</ref> Online interaction has only been possible since the 1980s, steadily growing over the years.<ref name="joinson">{{cite journal | author = Joinson Adam, Dietz-Uhler Beth | year = 2002 | title = Explanations for the Perpetration of and Reactions to Deception in a Virtual Community | url = | journal = Social Science Computer Review | volume = 20 | issue = | pages = 275–289 | doi = 10.1177/08939302020003005 }}</ref><ref>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.</ref>ref name="caspi">{{cite journal | author = Caspi Avner, Gorsky Paul | year = 2006 | title = Online Deception: Prevalence, Motivation, and Emotion | url = | journal = CyberPsychology & Behavior | volume = 9 | issue = | pages = 54–59 | pmid = 16497118 | doi = 10.1089/cpb.2006.9.54 }}</ref>

== Notable cases ==
Feldman's article in the ''Western Journal of Medicine'' was picked up by '']'' in a story by Denise Grady, who described three cases of Internet forum members who were "incorrigible fakers".<ref name="grady">Grady, Denise (April 23, 1998)., ''The New York Times'', Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref> These include a woman with a professed ] who posted to a support group saying she was reporting from an ] via her laptop computer, and claimed to have had a ] 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 ] – 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.<ref name="feldman2"/><ref name="grady"/>

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 ] headaches. Some of the group's members had been on ] 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 ] as complicating conditions. However, he also claimed to be a medical student who performed as a drummer in a band.<ref name="russo"/> 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".<ref name="stein">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.</ref>

Internet venues unrelated to medical issues have also been the audience for such cases. A member of an online fan club for the musical '']'' 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.<ref name="russo"/>

From 1999 to 2001 a 40-year-old homemaker named Debbie Swenson perpetrated a ruse under the identity ], a 19-year-old woman in Kansas who shared the details of her battles with ] online. '']'' newspaper reported that millions of Internet users read the fictional ], 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.<ref name="johnson">Johnson, Bobbie (May 28, 2001)., '']''. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.</ref> On May 16, 2001, Kaycee Nicole's death of an ] 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 ], had been enrolled in schools, or admitted to local hospitals, and no obituary had been printed.<ref name="joinson"/> The photo representing the girl was found to be that of a basketball player from ], who was alive.<ref>{{cite web |last=Associated |first=The |url=http://cjonline.com/stories/052601/kan_webhoax.shtml |title=Girl's illness was Web hoax; The Topeka Capital-Journal; May 26, 2001 |publisher=Cjonline.com |date=2001-05-26 |accessdate=2014-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101185748/http://cjonline.com/stories/052601/kan_webhoax.shtml |archive-date=January 1, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="johnson"/>
<!-- Hide paragraph until better source can be found Between 2004 and 2007, when she was exposed, a forum user called Emma Bowyer pretended to have multiple miscarriages on a forum used by many mothers. In one case, members of a forum collected money to send her flowers. She used other identities across several forums before her identity was revealed and she was forced to admit that she had made up most of what she had shared.<ref name="bowyer">Why do people fake it online? , '']''. Retrieved on Feb 22, 2010.</ref-->

== 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 ].<ref name="grady"/>

An article in '']'' 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 ], 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.<ref>Du Venage, Gavin (July 12, 2003). "Virtual Illness", ''The Weekend Australian'', p. C13.</ref> Others disappear and simply stop posting, such as the monk who claimed to have cancer.<ref name="feldman2">{{cite journal |vauthors=Feldman M, Bibby M, Crites S |date=Jun 1998 |title='Virtual' Factitious Disorders and Munchausen by Proxy |journal=Western Journal of Medicine |volume=168 |issue=6 |pages=537–540 |pmid=9656006 |pmc=1305082 }}</ref>

Some victims of the syndrome will claim that those questioning their illness causes their condition to worsen. These victims will also creates ] 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 ] 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). , 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 ] may be evident in some of the more egregious abuses of trust.<ref name="swains">Swains, Howard (March 25, 2009). {{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). , <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 ] 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 ].<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). {{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>

== See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
*

{{Baron Munchausen}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munchausen By Internet}}
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