View Full Version : This is disturbing...
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:35 PM
Kaycee Nicole Swenson
Type: Online Impostor.
Summary: A woman attracted many friends online by pretending to be a young girl dying of cancer.
Kaycee Nicole was a nineteen-year-old girl from Kansas dying of cancer. Or so believed the thousands of people who visited her website on which she kept a diary of her fight against leukemia.
For over a year Kaycee Nicole had added updates to her diary, letting people know about the ups and downs of her struggle with the disease, about her hope as the cancer went into remission, and about her fear as it reappeared. Kaycee’s mother, Debbie, maintained a companion journal in which she discussed what it was like caring for a child with cancer. Many people grew extremely close to Kaycee. They communicated with her via e-mail, chatted with her in online chatrooms, and some even phoned her.
Then on May 15, 2001 Kaycee Nicole died of a brain aneurysm. Her online friends were distraught. They sought for ways to express their sorrow. They wanted to send gifts to her family. Some even wanted to attend her funeral. And that’s when things began to get suspicious.
Kaycee’s mother refused to provide anyone with information about where the funeral was being held or where to send gifts. This prompted a group of individuals who participated in the online community Metafilter, and who called themselves the ‘ScoobyDoos,‘ to find out what was going on. What they discovered was disturbing. Kaycee’s death had not been recorded by any obituary they could locate. Nor could anyone remember ever having met Kaycee in person. They began to wonder if Kaycee actually existed.
Their fears were confirmed a few days later when Debbie Swenson, a forty-year-old woman from Kansas, confessed that she had invented Kaycee and written all the diary entries herself. The photos of Kaycee that appeared on the site were simply pictures of a neighbor, used without the neighbor’s knowledge. Whenever anyone had thought that they were e-mailing Kaycee or instant messaging with her, it was actually Debbie they were communicating with. Debbie did not reveal who had posed as Kaycee for the phone calls.
Debbie Swenson remained unrepentant and evasive in her confessions, claiming that Kaycee was real, in a way, because the character of Kaycee was a composite of a number of cancer victims whom Debbie had known. She added that she hadn’t realized so many people were reading the diary.
This hardly satisfied the thousands of people who felt their trust had been abused. The FBI even looked into the case, but determined that because Debbie Swenson hadn’t gained money from the hoax (besides a few small gifts and the use of webspace donated by a sympathetic man in Hong Kong) she hadn’t actually committed a prosecutable crime.
As strange as it was, Kaycee’s case was not the first of its kind. In 1981 the journalist Janet Cooke won a Pulitzer for her series of stories about Jimmy, an 8-year-old boy hooked on heroin by his mother’s live-in boyfriend. Jimmy, however, didn’t exist, and so the Putitzer committee took back their prize. In 1992 American heartstrings were tugged by the story of Thad, a homeless boy who wrote a letter to Santa detailing how his homeless parents lacked money to buy food and telling Santa that, “I want to go to Heven too be with the angels.“ Thad didn’t exist either.
Source:
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/Kaycee_Nicole_Swenson/
I hate online imposters I think they're sick in the way that they gather everyone to believe their lies.
30stone
25-01-2009, 09:38 PM
What the hell why would you even go to the touble unless you have somthing seirously wrong with you..
Damaris
25-01-2009, 09:38 PM
:shocked:
Scarlett.
25-01-2009, 09:38 PM
Anyone who does that is sick in the head :shocked:
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:39 PM
That's just it Ben... these kind of people do have something seriously wrong with them.. It's the fools who believe them I feel sorry for..
Shaun
25-01-2009, 09:39 PM
Rather poor taste given a recent thread...
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:40 PM
Whatchoo talkin bout Shaun?
pinkmichk
25-01-2009, 09:41 PM
:shocked: i have on a parenting site seen a imposter she invented a whole pregnancy problems that came with it and the birth story etc and even stole peoples pics from google that she posted as her 'child' her scans etc
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:42 PM
That's awful Mich... It's horrible when they use pics of other people.. especially children!
Scarlett.
25-01-2009, 09:43 PM
Somone did summat like this happened here recently if ya'll remember
Some member posted another had died, turned out they were both the same person
pinkmichk
25-01-2009, 09:44 PM
i agree linda and chewy i remember that
Originally posted by Shaun
Rather poor taste given a recent thread...
My thoughts exactly.
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:46 PM
I must have missed that one.. was it during my absence?
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:47 PM
Originally posted by Tom
Originally posted by Shaun
Rather poor taste given a recent thread...
My thoughts exactly.
Shaun didn't answer me.. maybe you can...
What do you mean?
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:47 PM
Originally posted by Tom
Its below this thread
No, I meant the one Chewy and Mich were talking about. I don't remember it.
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:48 PM
Tom and I posted at the same time I think and that's where the confusion was Ross.. lol
Originally posted by Linda
Tom and I posted at the same time I think and that's where the confusion was Ross.. lol
Oh lmao. :laugh:
Ah OK :blush2:
But when people do it it does make me question the mentality of those people, I mean who'd invest so much time into creating a fake character? They must have serious issues with their own life or have waaaaaay too much time on their hands
Originally posted by Tom
Ah OK :blush2:
But when people do it it does make me question the mentality of those people, I mean who'd invest so much time into creating a fake character? They must have serious issues with their own life or have waaaaaay too much time on their hands
Are ye getting mad because some people thought/think you are a fake? It isn't about you all the time...
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:51 PM
Oh, I'd agree with you there Tom. There is something seriously wrong with someone who fakes an entire personality (ironic that I accused you of such, but let's move past that)...
It's a shame in the case I posted in this thread, because people were genuinely distraught at the thought of this young girl dying.
I don't get what pleasure that woman got out of doing such a thing.
pinkmichk
25-01-2009, 09:51 PM
it wasnt that long ago linda the person came on saying his friend who was also a poster (but actually him) had commited suicide but when questioned over memorial things etc thats when it came out
i was freinds with someone once who was predending to be someone they wernt, but they did tell me after a while and i still talk to him lol turns out it wasent a girl it was a gay guy :S
Callum
25-01-2009, 09:52 PM
Originally posted by pinkmichk
it wasnt that long ago linda the person came on saying his friend who was also a poster (but actually him) had commited suicide but when questioned over memorial things etc thats when it came out
Yeah I remember that. Sticks asked for the date of the funeral and the poster was reluctant to answer.
Originally posted by Ross
Originally posted by Tom
Ah OK :blush2:
But when people do it it does make me question the mentality of those people, I mean who'd invest so much time into creating a fake character? They must have serious issues with their own life or have waaaaaay too much time on their hands
Are ye getting mad because some people thought/think you are a fake? It isn't about you all the time...
No, where did I say it was about me? :conf:
I'm just giving my thoughts on the subject, just like everyone else in this thread.
Looks like you're after reopening a particular can of works though with that post. As Linda said lets just move past it :rolleyes:
Scarlett.
25-01-2009, 09:54 PM
Originally posted by pinkmichk
it wasnt that long ago linda the person came on saying his friend who was also a poster (but actually him) had commited suicide but when questioned over memorial things etc thats when it came out Yeah, and they had the cheek to mention ROB in the same sentence
Shaun
25-01-2009, 09:54 PM
Originally posted by Linda
Whatchoo talkin bout Shaun?
It doesn't take a lot to work out. Obviously I once publicly voiced my own doubts over the whole Angie thing, but now I've reconsidered.
Even if someone is being suspicious and you can't prove whether or not something someone's saying, or claiming to be dying of, on the internet is true, I think it doesn't take much to show some decency.
What if it is true? You'd feel terrible, and I know I would. And if it isn't? Then, so what? They're just a horrible person and they haven't won or gained anything other than a victory in their own mind.
Originally posted by Callum
Originally posted by pinkmichk
it wasnt that long ago linda the person came on saying his friend who was also a poster (but actually him) had commited suicide but when questioned over memorial things etc thats when it came out
Yeah I remember that. Sticks asked for the date of the funeral and the poster was reluctant to answer.
Oh THAT thread, yeah I remember that as well. I think the thread got pulled in the end though and the person banned
Originally posted by Tom
Originally posted by Ross
Originally posted by Tom
Ah OK :blush2:
But when people do it it does make me question the mentality of those people, I mean who'd invest so much time into creating a fake character? They must have serious issues with their own life or have waaaaaay too much time on their hands
Are ye getting mad because some people thought/think you are a fake? It isn't about you all the time...
No, where did I say it was about me? :conf:
I'm just giving my thoughts on the subject, just like everyone else in this thread.
Looks like you're after reopening a particular can of works though with that post. As Linda said lets just move past it :rolleyes:
Linda said let's move past it... I'm not Linda.
I didn't re-open anything, just asking.
lily.
25-01-2009, 09:55 PM
Shaun, when did I ever say anything about Angie?
Wow... You are really reading waaaaay too much into this thread.
It's a news article.. It's not just an opinion thread. I'm not about to tip-toe around on eggshells in a forum in case I "offend" someone. Holy **** man. Decency? Seriously.. get a grip!
Its the way you asked, jumping on my post straight away and accusing me of things not even in the post ffs
Originally posted by Tom
Its the way you asked, jumping on my post straight away and accusing me of things not even in the post ffs
Well if ye want a word, instead of trying to make me argue with you on here... you have my MSN if you have an issue.
Not trying to make you argue, clearly its the other way around by coming out with that but oh well its not working :spin2:
lily.
25-01-2009, 10:00 PM
Can we get back to the topic..
oh wait, I should have used ye olde maroon fontage for that one.. hehe.. (sorry Red.. :P)
Originally posted by Tom
Not trying to make you argue, clearly its the other way around by coming out with that but oh well its not working :spin2:
I honestly don't get what ye talking about... I don't think I was starting an arguement, I didn't swear at you or say anything to cause an arguement. Maybe if you read my posts with a little less serious-ness and actually stop speaking out of your arse for a change, you'd of seen that.
Like I said, I'm on MSN. As far as this goes... I'm out.
Oh its fine for you to have a joke is it without me taking it seriously? Its not possible the other way around is it
Hmm, given your recent posts towards me on here can you blame me?
Shaun
25-01-2009, 10:15 PM
Originally posted by Linda
Shaun, when did I ever say anything about Angie?
Wow... You are really reading waaaaay too much into this thread.
It's a news article.. It's not just an opinion thread. I'm not about to tip-toe around on eggshells in a forum in case I "offend" someone. Holy **** man. Decency? Seriously.. get a grip!
Excuse me for thinking this is more than a bit coincidental then. I know I'm not the only one who thought what I did a while back, so I'm open to the idea that there are others. And you aren't exactly a stranger to controversy on here.
Though if you truly are just posting about it coincidentally, and it's not meant as a dig in any way, then I apologise.
lily.
25-01-2009, 10:21 PM
Apology accepted. And, let's bear in mind that I've only known Angiebabe for about 6 weeks, so I'm hardly going to go to the trouble of creating controversy about her.
ange7
25-01-2009, 11:24 PM
Originally posted by Linda
Whatchoo talkin bout Shaun?
http://img47.exs.cx/img47/6169/ArnoldJackson-GaryColeman.jpg
:spin2:
Wildcat!
25-01-2009, 11:26 PM
Originally posted by ange7
Originally posted by Linda
Whatchoo talkin bout Shaun?
http://img47.exs.cx/img47/6169/ArnoldJackson-GaryColeman.jpg
:spin2:
lol1 good ol arnold1
lily.
25-01-2009, 11:33 PM
Trust you to pick up on that one Ange... haha
ange7
27-01-2009, 11:40 AM
Originally posted by Aint_mad_atcha
Originally posted by ange7
Originally posted by Linda
Whatchoo talkin bout Shaun?
http://img47.exs.cx/img47/6169/ArnoldJackson-GaryColeman.jpg
:spin2:
lol1 good ol arnold1
lol surprised you got this reference. Were old "Different strokes" reruns big in Senegal back in the 90's ?
Sunny_01
27-01-2009, 02:04 PM
I hate this kind of thing, I was once involved in a forum where someone pretended to self harm seriously and talked about suicide all the time, it was very distressing the lengths she went to but then she slipped up and people pounced, it was brutal I can tell you.
If people come to forums they could at least try to get along without making rubbish up to gain friends and sympathy.
andyman
27-01-2009, 03:32 PM
Originally posted by ange7
Originally posted by Aint_mad_atcha
Originally posted by ange7
Originally posted by Linda
Whatchoo talkin bout Shaun?
http://img47.exs.cx/img47/6169/ArnoldJackson-GaryColeman.jpg
:spin2:
lol1 good ol arnold1
lol surprised you got this reference. Were old "Different strokes" reruns big in Senegal back in the 90's ?
Lol pukka! Remember it so well...
Jackie
27-01-2009, 06:41 PM
She probably done it for the attention the problem is one day she will probably be ill and no one will beleive her.
ange7
28-01-2009, 07:10 AM
Originally posted by jackie46
She probably done it for the attention the problem is one day she will probably be ill and no one will beleive her.
Yeah agree... but probably the least of her problems. I mean if she ( either Linda's example or Sunny's) needs to create false sympathy because she feels who she really is won't attract real interest then something is seriously wrong. I guess it's sad some confuse pity as proof of affection.
Sunny_01
28-01-2009, 11:07 AM
I hear you Ange7, the sad thing is when incidents like Linda and I mentioned happen it really does gut some people. They feel very emotionally involved with their online friends and often invest a lot of time into supporting them. To be let down in that kind of way is very sad.
Annie
28-01-2009, 01:45 PM
I also read the OP and thought that it was a dig at the Angie thread made recently so thought it was ill taste so I can see why Shaun and Tom thought that.
Mrluvaluva
28-01-2009, 02:07 PM
Didn't somebody on here once post that they were going to commit suicide and then go offline for ages? I can't remember who it was?
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