Münchausen by Internet

Synonyms:	munchhausen by proxy server
See also:	sockpuppet, wank, fandom flounce, online exit, Pseuicide
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Munchausen by Internet is faking emotional and physical distress in order to garner sympathy or money.

The pattern was identified in 1998 by psychiatrist Marc Feldman, who created the term "Münchausen by Internet" in 2000. It is based on "Munchausen syndrome", a psychiatric disorder identified in 1951.

Behavior Patterns

Feldman listed the following common behavior patterns in people who exhibited Münchausen by Internet:

• Medical literature from websites or textbooks is often duplicated or discussed in great detail.
• The length and severity of purported physical ailments conflicts with user behavior. Feldman uses the example of someone posting in considerable detail about being in septic shock, when such a possibility is extremely unlikely.
• Symptoms of ailments may be exaggerated as they correspond to a user's misunderstanding of the nature of an illness.
• Grave situations and increasingly critical prognoses are interspersed with "miraculous" recoveries.
• A user's posts eventually reveal contradictory information or claims that are implausible: for example, other users of a forum may find that a user has been divulging contradictory information about occurrence or length of hospital visits.
• When attention and sympathy decreases to focus on other members of the group, a user may announce that other dire events have transpired, including the illness or death of a close family member.
• When faced with insufficient expressions of attention or sympathy, a forum member claims this as a cause that symptoms worsen or do not improve.
• A user resists contact beyond the Internet, by telephone or personal visit, often claiming bizarre reasons for not being able to accept such contact.
• Further emergencies are described with inappropriate happiness, designed to garner immediate reactions.
• Other forum members post on behalf of a user, exhibiting identical writing styles, spelling errors, and language idiosyncrasies, suggesting that the user has created fictitious identities to move the conversation in their direction.

Notable Fannish Fakers

• Victoria Bitter
• Msscribe
• Evie Whiting
• Kaycee Nicole
• hivliving
• others?

Further Reading

• A Strange Case of Munchausen by Internet, ^{Archived version}, "...in fandom, there's a tendency to trust. To take people at face value."
• Operation Catch and Release Part 1, ^{Archived version}, by KumquatWriter, November 2011 (one of many comments which feature aspects of the Victoria Bitter Wank)
• The Hoax Exposurer, ^{Archived version}, by Molly Shalgos, March 5, 2013 (comments include fan examples)