Sickness and Lies
The chronically ill community has exploded in recent years, with chronic illness influencers attracting huge social media followings. But some are accused of faking it.
The chronically ill community has exploded in the last few years, with high-profile members like Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and Lena Dunham.
With 15 million people in England alone living with a long-term condition, and numbers rising, it's no surprise chronic illness influencers on social media are attracting huge followings. But, as their profiles have grown, so have accusations of fakery. Can the accusers be right? Are some influencers faking illnesses for fame, money and attention?
As someone who is disabled, journalist Octavia Woodward, 23, is horrified by the thought of people faking it - but she's equally horrified to see sick people being disbelieved.
In this film, she meets both accusers and their targets. And she meets the eminent psychologist Marc Feldman, who defined the condition Munchausen's by Internet to describe people who fake illnesses online.
Octavia soon realises she isn't really investigating whether people are faking it or not, but witnessing call-out culture at its most extreme. With accusers demanding ever more 'proof', and influencers going ever further to provide it, this phenomenon has become one of the most deadly on the internet.
