Belle Gibson. Remember that name?
She’s the Aussie girl who profited more than $1 million convincing the world that she cured her cancer utilising a wholistic approach.
Except… she never had cancer.
This is an extreme case of Munchausen by Internet. Munchausen syndrome is a factitious disorder whereby someone will fake an illness in order to generate sympathy and attention.
The internet has simply made this a lot easier to do. Belle’s story is just one in a growing list of high profile cases, such as Dee Dee Blanchard and the Warrior Eli hoax, which have been revealed to involve a complex web of deception over many, many years.
