Dr. DerSakkian at WebMD explains, “A recent surge in factitious disorder has taken place online, where faked or exaggerated illnesses range from autoimmune deficiencies to leukemia – and, notably, Tourette’s syndrome and dissociative identity disorder.”
Given that the use of social media has begun to exponentially increase, with a surplus of wanna-be influencers who are desperate for fame, this issue has become all the more prevalent.
One prominent example of an influencer taking advantage of health problems is Belle Gibson, who was one of the first super-influencers on Instagram, according to the BBC.
Sharing her life as a victim of inoperable brain cancer, Gibson presented herself as an advocate for cancer survivors and published her cancer health book. Because her viewers were amazed by her strength, her book became extremely popular, giving her a steady flow of cash.
A year later, she posted again on Instagram that her cancer had come back. After this announcement, her profile received an increase in followers and likes. It is no wonder that the internet was shocked when it was realized that Belle Gibson never had cancer.
The reasoning behind why influencers fake illness is clear — they want attention. Shopify stated, “Many social media influencers earn money when viewers interact with ads that third-party ad networks place on their content. Revenue is typically based on factors like views, clicks, or impressions.”
In order to make money, influencers want as many interactions on their account as possible. Some influencers find that by making themself a pity case, they gain admiration, followers, and, in turn, money. By faking health issues, influencers increase their own profit.
One issue of influencers faking health problems is the encouragement of toxic online misinformation. Because it is extremely hard for fake influencers to be detected online, many if not most of these influencers escape without any backlash. This along with their increasing fame from emotional manipulation encourages them to continue this dangerous trend. Social media is already filled with misinformation.
NCSC reports that the level of misinformation on social media is increasing drastically and is harmful as many social media consumers do not question the things they read, leading them to believe in false news. Through these fake influencers, the level of fake news is only increasing.
Another critical result of influencers taking advantage of the sympathy of their viewers is the invalidation of the genuine pain and suffering of people who have actual health issues.
A cancer patient named Kylie, after watching Belle Gibson’s content, started to feel even more depressed, according to the BBC. She noticed how productive Gibson was despite having cancer and felt envious that while her own hair was thinning, Gibson was still glowing.
It is clear that the consequences of influencers faking health issues are detrimental in the sense that they demean actual patients and portray a false example of what health issues look like, perpetuating misinformation.
Unfortunately, Gibson is only one of many influencers exploiting health issues.
By faking health problems, these influencers cause real harm to real people.
