Dana Dirr, trauma surgeon and mother of 11, was hit by a drunk driver on the eve of Mother’s Day in 2012.
She was pregnant at the time.
Doctors managed to save her baby, but Dana died in hospital.
To make matters worse, one of her children, a 7-year-old boy, had cancer at the time.
Dana’s husband posted an emotional tribute to his wife on Facebook, which quickly went viral — eliciting an outpouring of grief.
But the story turned out to be entirely fake.
Lies, exaggeration … and even making yourself sick
The tale of Dana Dirr was actually a case of Munchausen by internet, a syndrome that sees people feign illness online in an attempt to garner the sympathy and attention of others.
“Munchausen syndrome refers to people who have evolved a severe and chronic lifestyle in which they lie about illness, actually enact illness or exaggerate an illness they have, or, in the most extreme cases, make themselves sick,” Professor Marc Feldman said.
Professor Feldman, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Alabama and the world’s foremost authority on Munchausen syndrome, says Munchausen by internet is the latest iteration a syndrome with a long history.
“It used to be that people had to go from emergency room to emergency room, they would have to study up on illness and try to appear authentic when they were faking. Now all you have to do is sit at home in your pyjamas and click into a support group and make up a story,” Professor Feldman said.
Top Comments
Is this expert real? I mean who says psych students are told to run away from patients? Does this really happen? The hoax hunters sound even scarier. I think I can spot a liar on line or in person. Like the article said the drama person. They love telling you about every ache and pain and it never gets better. I knew a real life munchausen person. It was worse when they involved their kids.