World Trade Center Survivor Hoax...

It is said that half the population of Russia claimed to have been present at the storming of the Winter Palace.

But there's an extra manipulative trick here, though -- she's relying on people failing to question her story given the horrific nature of the circumstances. She's taking advantage of the good faith of sympathizers.

it reminded me of fanfic, too, esp all the shit about almost being married to this heroic guy who died.

i wouldn't be surprised if this is a recognized disorder

For that last bit -- reaching out to the parents of the man she claimed rescued her, she should be fed to the lions.

i don't think people who do shit like this admit to themselves they're making it all up

this seems like some twisted wanting to be type of the cool crowd type shit.

nice of the times to feature the mayor so prominently!

i don't think people who do shit like this admit to themselves they're making it all up

-- gabbneb, Thursday, September 27, 2007 1:21 PM (5 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

eventually they believe it and "i'm a wtc survivor" becomes second nature

alex nyc otm about the mother of the dude who "saved" her

isn't munchausen syndrome when you claim to be a "sufferer" (and in some cases hurt yourself, but not necessarily so, you can lie about having had an injury/whatever)?

anyway, you can label it whatever, but it's still despicable.

Hmm, whoever said "personality disorder" above is OTM. I think there is some kind of mental illness involved with this, rather than her just being an "attention whore." It's not really something she should be scolded for, as pathetic as it seems. She's got some serious issues there.

I knew someone in college like this, a kind of pathological liar. Claimed all sorts of crazy stuff that clearly did not fly, but was incredibly sincere about it. The guy was really nice, and people were torn between hating him for making all this crap up and feeling sorry for him for having such a serious problem.

i don't think people who do shit like this admit to themselves they're making it all up

i wonder if she really was in mourning for her 'fiance'?

It sounds like, up until this hoax was discovered, this woman was having a blast.

otm

Anyone who has met a pathological liar (as I have) will understand that the compulsion to make one's life more fascinating to others is a prime symptom. Just saying, not diagnosing.

It's just the regular Munchausen syndrome, IMHO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchausen_syndrome , none of the other descriptions of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factitious_disorder seem to fit.

The only other examples I seem to be able to find are fake holocaust survivors:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binjamin_Wilkomirski
http://www.isurvived.org/4Debates/SollyGanor/DeliStrummer-discredited.html

but there's no mention of a possible syndrome/affliction there.

i don't think people who do shit like this admit to themselves they're making it all up

-- gabbneb, Thursday, September 27, 2007 1:21 PM (5 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

eventually they believe it and "i'm a wtc survivor" becomes second nature

I definitely agree. I imagine she really believed all the stuff she was saying. I'm sure there was a kind of sincerity in going to the parents of the her (claimed) rescuer.

it's a lack of self confidence thing also~ she's likely never had any attention bestowed on her like she had with this story, plus she gave herself a romance (which ended in a shakespearean tragedy kinda way), plus another man saved her life selflessly, plus she was sort of heroic and giving. she wrote her own script beautifully.

let's get Sean Penn to direct

no wait, Ang Lee

Just like all the people who said they were at the Beatles Shea stadium concert-they probably actually think they were there.

There was a guy who died about a month ago who lied for about 30 years that he was an ex-major league baseball player. He even had his wife fooled, and toured the banquet circuit on the stories. When he died, the real guy, who is alive and kicking, had the strange experience of reading his own obituary. He then set everybody straight. This, I guess, happens a lot.

this story annoys people like me who actually did survive those attacks

yeah that is what I meant up above about "dissociative" - this type of thing is symptomatic of a psychological disorder, otherwise, why not make a load of money playing poker

lol Bill Magill and I read Rick Reilly

and yeah I am beginning to get the idea this happens a LOT A LOT A LOT more than we think it does

*develops sudden suspicions of tombot*

there are a lot of pathological liars out there, some small-scale, some big scale. i wonder how many people claim to have been in dealey plaza? i think jim garrison based his case on testimony from people who were actually sleeping off a hangover in fort worth.

here's the story about the serial Pittsburgh Steeler impersonator

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2860426

He's pretended to be like three different players on the team. On the surface it seems like a straight-up con but why would you keep doing it over and over after being arrested? CRAAZY

Ishmael wasn't even ON the Pequod.

did you hear about that guy who impersonated a world-class impersonator, he made it into the Guinness Book of World Records

"lol Bill Magill and I read Rick Reilly"

That's where I got it from. I don't get the impression that guy pocketed a great deal from it either. I think he just got swept up in it. The real ex-player didn't seem to be too upset about it.

and yeah I am beginning to get the idea this happens a LOT A LOT A LOT more than we think it does

cf every staff meeting at every job ever

reminds me of an article i read (in Jane magazine?) about a girl who was clearing her conscience after having lied back in college about being a rape victim and then continuing to lie about it for years. there it was a case of her blurting it out when fighting with her boyfriend on the phone in a misguided ploy for immediate sympathy and attention - like a trump card. but then some friend overheard her and the whole thing spiralled out of control, so it got harder and harder to admit that it was a lie. which makes sense i guess. a person might have this need for attention or validation and small or stupid lies evolve into these unimaginably huge ones just because the person has painted themselves into a corner.

uhhh-yup.

"But there's an extra manipulative trick here, though -- she's relying on people failing to question her story given the horrific nature of the circumstances. She's taking advantage of the good faith of sympathizers."

That's how propaganda works, and why it's easy for governments to find civilians who will be complicit in its spread. Which is why the "Let's Roll" story, for example -- which is as full of holes as the cheese shop around the corner from me -- has managed to thrive so nicely without critical examination (nutsy conspiracy theorists not counting as critical examination).

I never believed that Flight 93/Let's Roll malarkey for a minute

Ishmael wasn't even ON the Pequod.

Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Larry Appleton made huge outrageous lies that he almost talked himself into believing, and every time the whole thing got sorted out in 22 minutes.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1696977/posts HAHA

That is the worst headline ever. As Christian Bale sang in Newsies, "If I hate the headline, I'll make up a headline."

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

Reminds me of the 18 year old girl who attended Stanford, living in the dorms, for 8 months without being a student there.

Azia Kim

did you hear about that guy who impersonated a world-class impersonator, he made it into the Guinness Book of World Records

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, September 27, 2007 11:44 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

that was me.

that's an amazxing shakey impression, i was totally taken in

no rachel ray ref no credibility

Remember when there were like 3 Alex in NYCs and eight or nine Dr Morbiuses running around?

HOW DID THEY FOOL SO MANY PEOPLE

There was that news story from last year about the bloke who told everyone he wrote Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, it went pretty well until he died and the man who really wrote it had his obituary printed in the papars

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/arts/music/28bikini.html?ex=1317096000&en=c049ae10c803ce44&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

But there was an extra manipulative trick there, though -- he was relying on people failing to question his story given the horrific nature of the circumstances. He was taking advantage of the good faith of sympathizers.

I am just hell of gullible, so when I encounter compulsive liars I am enchanted for a day or two and then just irritated–they're only entertaining for so long. Plus they infringe on the legitimacy of my TRUE true-life tales which are occasionally improbable.

Reminds me of the 18 year old girl who attended Stanford, living in the dorms, for 8 months without being a student there.

Here's the UK vers. of this.

Very weird - there's a poem by Ai (that's the poet's full pen name), a long narrative poem, in which this exact story takes place, only it's a woman who claims she is looking for a sister. It's in a book called "Dread."

Who the hell was that? I was on here in 2001 and I don't remember that!

Tawana Brawley

Oh I do vaguely recall that....

what tania head did is a lot like what most of the country did just more so

also tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head tania head

Don't famous historical traumas spawn these type of lies? I remember something about how in around 1900 there were far more people claiming to be veterans of Gettysburg than had actually fought there.

9/11 is just the latest trauma--and it's a bit easier to expose BS nowadays. Still, you have Rudy attempting to claim he spent as much time at Ground Zero as the rescue workers, etc.

http://i23.tinypic.com/igzyth.jpg

Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia
Ms. Head, who sometimes uses the first name Alicia

http://www.wondermark.com/comics/340.gif

He was trying to claim a share of the payout $$$$.

that's what's interesting about this one, as far as anyone can tell she didn't get any money out of it except for charity. seemingly was more for attention / sympathy / give aimless life a purpose

since we're collecting all these hoaxers now, there was also this presidential photographer who claimed to have taken the famous JFK Jr. shot and a lot of other stuff .... when his obit ran a couple of weeks ago, a bunch of retired press-pool photographers saw their work being credited to someone else

Known For Famous Photos, Not All of Them His
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/nyregion/15photographer.html

Does no one remember the former ILX regular who, after his girlfriend turned up alive in NYC a few days post 9/11, ended up entirely making up the story of the deaths of his two friends in the WTC, getting time off work to "grieve" for them, even going so far as to throw "benefit gigs" in London in their honour?

That's all I could think of this morning when I read the story.

Yeah, this stuff is unfortunately a lot more common than is comfortable.

-- Klaus M. Flanger, Friday, September 28, 2007 3:49 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

paul strange, kate st clares ex

wow that is mental. and yeah it must be really common!

u guys i founded al qaeda and am therefor indirectly responsible for 9/11. it's not what i intended. sorry. also i am hulk hogan.

sorry I caused all that cancer

http://i20.tinypic.com/2cp4zk0.jpg

Juelz Santana should be in there somewhere.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJX.sej6xrYE&refer=home

"Morgan Stanley, the second-largest securities firm, will pay $12.5 million to settle regulatory claims it wrongly withheld e-mails in arbitration cases by saying they were lost in the Sept. 11 attacks"

Also, there's that episode of Curb Your Enthusiam where a rabbi's brother in law was killed in NYC on 9/11. He was going around yelling "I know someone who was killed on 9/11!" until it was discovered that the brother in law was killed by a bike messenger and not in the WTC.

she should be given the electric chair

Gosh, that reminds me of when my mom said that "She should commit suicide over this" re: Britney's performance on VMAs.

http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/the-life-and-death-of-jesse-james/17427/?page=1

I am developing a distant fascination with this

I would have chalked that whole story up to being... well, a story (as the guy is a writer ffs!) but then theres that youtube video....

where was the youtube video Trayce?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XmPDGZPnYl0

(as per post on the noizeboard)

I guess it doesnt do much to add to the story but it certainly fits with what the guy described.

and pictured, on the last page of the article

Harlan Ellison fans are a CREEEEEEEEEEPY bunch.

http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2001/06/44245

in fight club of course this gets played for laughs