"Baby Blog Hoaxer Explains Her 'Lie'" [ABC News]
]]>A lot of her money making came from clickable ads and money given to other charities. There isn't much that she can give back.
]]>The site hasn't been updated in a few years, but he's one of the original "give me money!" websites on the web. Check his domain registration date.
]]>Apparently there have been other occurrences...
]]>According to the video news story at the site linked to this story, she had been pregnant and she did lose the child during pregnancy before she started blogging. She apparently started blogging to try to deal with her loss. I can actually see how this might have happened, you talk about yourself, and write about the ordeal that recently happened as if it were happening now. Fastforward a few months, and the blog becomes popular and in your emotional state you forget to tell people that this happened xx months ago and you are still emotionally deal with it.
While I am not excusing the actions, based on the short video clip, I don't think that she did anything wrong, other than trying to pass her doll off as a baby.
I hope that this woman has a close support group and is receiving some grief counseling as she recently lost a baby, and is obviously having a hard time dealing with it. Throw in negative publicity for scamming people, and you have someone who may think of doing something extreme.
]]>@SteelersAreGo: Ever heard of a thing called "natural selection"?
See, it's this funny thing that keeps overpopulation under control that medicine is trying to defeat. Thanks to natural selection giving me superior intellect, I have been awarded healthcare.
]]>Her apology in the article is what really is chilling. Most people would be too anguished with shame to even confront reporters or face the bloggers. She instead delivers a cogent apology. I'm half-wondering if she's going to try to get a tip jar going to pay for her legal fees/bail.
]]>So you'd probably have more money in your pocket that way. Feel free to thank a generous liberal sometime.
]]>I don't think they exist.
]]>[Tip : without even trying it, I would recommend you have "safe search" on.]
]]>You sound like someone who's been highly disillusioned by pseudoXians. I'm sorry, but they did not, and DO not represent Christ. For that image, reread the 4 Gospels, then we'll talk again, mmm'kay?
]]>@TripleTheOrder_GitEmSteveDave: I had a guy in San Fran follow me and my friends for a couple of blocks, singing away. He knew the words, could carry a tune, and we showed our appreciation for the entertainment. Much better than simple demands for money based on false pretences.
]]>@HiPwr: Indeed. I'll let you know more if you send me a dollar.
]]>So...you're saying don't donate to the Consumerist Tip Jar?
]]>If you want to help sick kids who are in need, donate to the Shriners. They run Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas, and many other hospitals around the country that provide medical care for free to those families that need it. The Shriners burn hospital in Houston was closed due to hurricane damage, and they may not be able to repair/open it up since donations are down.
As Will Rogers once said: "I can remember way back when a liberal was generous with his own money"
]]>Then...she left HERSELF comments on that post, using profiles she had set up previously. "Kelli" was not only a frequent commenter, but also her supposed friend in real life who was present at the "birth" and was giving the details to another blogger who wrote all the updates.
I'm sorry, but posting comments on your own blog, saying things like "I am sending something your way", "check your mail", etc, is the same thing.
She has SERIOUS mental issues and I know for a fact she ran an adoption scam several years ago, as well. Imagine learning the baby you're adopting doesn't exist. She has hurt many people, both in person and online. She's a horrible person.
truthaboutaprilrose.blogspot.com
]]>Also, it kind of is a nice thing to say to a kid that it didnt have creepy limbs. Which is the opposite of what my mom said to my sis: "You looked like a giant malnourished rat when you were born."
]]>Now if only consumerist were to steal it...
]]>It is sad that so many of these strangers in need turn out to be scam artists. Scam artists who draw down the capital of goodwill available for people in real need.
It is remarkable that so many people believe what they read online and are overwhelmed by the need to crack open their wallets and send money to people who spin a great yarn.
I would like you all to send me $1 to cover my costs in coming up with these observations... Please send to 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield...
]]>@sanjsrik: From the article:
She posted a P.O. Box, to which readers could send gifts or money]]>
Of course this will illicit a big negative response, but in my experiences, no one is more gullible than a highly religious person. It seems most of the people taken in by this hoax were sent over from religious sites. I worked at a christian school for years. About 90% of the employees there were raised in highly religious christian schools as well. I had never seen so many people wrapped up in money pyramids, scams, etc. A lot of them honestly believed anything they heard. One guy ordered 2 food processors from tv because it said it could chop cement. Any sob letter that came across the internet was immediately believed and prayers were sent out (and donations). Just stick "God" in front of whatever you are trying to sell, and they were in like flint.
]]>HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA SO STUPID. WHY MAY I ASK WOULD YOU GIVE ANYONE MONEY THAT YOU MET ONLINE??? WHY?????? HOW DUMB IS THE ONLINE WORLD?
]]>And lets guess... what percent of these dolls are sold to be stand-in babies? Maybe 5%? 10%? Seriously, the majority of these are being sold to be Mommies lil complex.
]]>i can't believe she didn't get a picture of a real baby. this kind of shotty workmanship is why all of our decent scamming jobs are going overseas to Nigeria.
]]>@wallspray: It's no more creepy than going out to kill a live animal then having it stuffed so you can hang it on a wall or something.
These dolls are often used in film and photography, usually in situations where action will put the real child at risk, or as a stand-in since real infants can be used only for very limited amounts of time in a day.
]]>I'm still concerned that there might be a real child encased in that plastic doll. Is she still accepting donations?
]]>(Also he was 7 lbs. 13 oz. but REALLY short since there wasn't a lot of room in there for him, so he was actually born with some nice baby fat instead of creepy spindly limbs.)
]]>She never solicited actively for money. She never said, "give me money for my baby and myself." What people "donated" they did unsolicited.
She lied via the web. that's it.
]]>This is why i don't give to people on the street. i'd rather just donate to foundations, i donate my old clothes to Goodwill/Salvation Army and money goes to St. Jude. Then I know that it's going to help more than just one person (who may or may not need it). Working in downtown chicago kind of makes you think twice about giving to people on the street.
Also... GO SOX!
]]>Of course you can put people in jail for that. We have before and she should join them.
]]>I am sure my wife will be extremely pissed of at me whenever we have a baby, because i'll look at the baby and will invariably say something like "OH GOD ITS SO UGLY. MY EYES!! ZESE GOGGLES, ZAY DO NOTHING!!!"
]]>Can't she be prosecuted for this? I mean you can be prosecuted for wire and mail fraud, you should be for this also.
]]>It's called My Fake Baby
It was sad and creepy.
I always thought they must be stupid to think I'd fall for it. Apparently, I was wrong...they just targeted the wrong audience.
There's a community drive for a sick kid near me and I haven't given to that either even though it's almost certainly real, not because I don't care, but because I feel more secure and less prone to favouritism if I give to a charity that would cover this kid and others like him instead. That way when there's another sick and uninsured kid in a few months, nobody can say, "Well you gave that kid $100 so you'd better give mine $100" and accuse me of who-knows-what-kind of discrimination if I don't.
Plus, um, really...there should be universal, single-payer, government health care for all of these pregnancies and kids anyway. I'd rather pay it by taxes. None of my friends back home in Canada have to live with guilt and awkwardness about a kid in their playgroup being untreated for lack of insurance...
]]>One dollar for eternal happiness. Mmmm... I'd be happier with the
dollar.
@hypnotik_jello: I'd rather have the dollar.
]]>As for those dolls, I agree. The nice thing about babies it they get cuter as they grow. Those look like a snap shot from a nursery right after the birth, when even Bill Cosby said, "My wife gave birth to a lizard. It changed colors. I asked the doctor if we could put it back in and let it cook a little longer".
]]>