Deception in Memoir and Blogs Harmful

Speculation over the existence of the gay girl thought to have been abducted/arrested in Damascus raises the issue of fraud in storytelling. Although the person posting about politics in the Middle East did much to raise awareness about a number of issues, another blow has been dealt to the public's faith in the veracity of personal accounts.  

Here is an article posted on Galley Cat today, one day after an interview on NPR detailed evidence of the fraud.

Here is the horrifying story: “while her companion was still close by, Amina was seized by three men in their early 20’s. According to the witness (who does not want her identity known), the men were armed. Amina hit one of them and told the friend to go find her father. One of the men then put his hand over Amina’s mouth and they hustled her into a red Dacia Logan with a window sticker of Basel Assad … The men are assumed to be members of one of the security services or the Baath Party militia. Amina’s present location is unknown and it is unclear if she is in a jail or being held elsewhere in Damascus.”

This from NPR's Two Way blog on June 10th;

Her blog was so autobiographical, so genuine that it never occurred to her that Amina could be anyone but Amina. But the last few days have left her shellshocked.

First, because on Monday, a person claiming to be Amina's cousin posted a piece on Amina's blog that said she had been detained by the security forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But just as Amina's story got out, her authenticity began to crumble. Along with a profile of Amina, The Guardian posted a picture they say was given to them by Amina, only to find it was really a picture of Jelena Lecic, a Londoner who appeared on the BBC today and said she had "never met Amina. I am not friends with her."

As we reported earlier, we sifted through biographical details Amina posted throughout her "Gay Girl In Damascus" blog and could not corroborate them using public records. We could not find public records that corresponded with whom she said her parents were or records that correspond to the person who claimed to be her cousin.