Aug 19, 2024
"This policing of illnesses online often verges on bullying, and can have serious ramifications for both posers and people with real-life conditions. It creates a 'boy who cried wolf' culture around health on social media, which subjects actual sufferers to skepticism and condemnation. . . . Feldman calls actual sufferers 'the real casualties of deception — because they are there legitimately seeking help. When the skepticism ends up undermining their efforts to get it, that's just deeply unfortunate.'"
Harriet Shepherd (2021) on the witch-hunting of people who fake disorders/illnesses. [Source]