Why Do Hoaxers Hoax?

[Doc Holliday]

Hoaxes are nothing new in the BF world. I think proponents & non-proponents alike could agree hoaxing hurts the BF case.

Seems to be an integral part of the BF scene & IMO, makes it that much harder for this to be taken seriously by the general public.

So , i thought i'd throw this out there for discussion.

ive already got a few ideas of my own, but figured it might be interesting to see what is said concerning this.

is it for attention,to undermine credibilty of researchers,or do some just feel the need to try & screw with your head?

IOW, why do hoaxers hoax? what motivates them?

& any thoughts on how could they be exposed /stopped?

[Guest Roberty-Bob]

I think some do it because they get their kicks thinking they've fooled someone and it makes them feel better about themselves. Some do it just because they're jokers, but aren't malicious. Some because they think they're helping out someone's cause, and it makes them feel special that they did that. Some do it to help their own cause - they think if they do this, they'll get more people interested and more "real" evidence will be found that way. And I'm sure there's countless other reasons i can't think of.

Oh, some might for monetary reasons, thinking they'll make a buck - but I bet that one is the lesser rational of them all.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Roberty-Bob

[Guest]

Lots of different motivations exist for hoaxing. It depends on what the pay off happens to be, which is not always monetary. I would suggest looking into the psychology of fame to find some of answers because bigfoot hoaxing doesn't appear to be particularly lucrative. Fame is a matter of opinion too but some think being well known in bigfoot world meets those requirements.

The best hoaxes around are the ones that leave you wondering if the event really was a hoax after all. They create endless hours of debate for years after the event occurs. Some of my favorites are Mel's Hole, John Titor the Time Traveler, and of course, the PGF.

Mel's Hole is a good one but the red flag there for me was his departure to establish a Wombat refuge in Australia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel%27s_Hole

John Titor and the PGF- I'm leaning towards a non hoax here but I could be wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor

All of these are old stories but people still debate the veracity of all of them and they sure are entertaining.

[Bill]

I'd agree with Jodie that there are a lot of reasons, and so working up one general reason would be futile and simplistic.

But I do think the subject is particularly vulnerable to hoaxs moreso than other phenomenon (how many people would know how to hoax a ghost or a sea monster?). But for a bigfoot hoax, get a camaflauge suit (starts with G, but don't know how to spell it), or a costume party gorilla suit from the Halloween store, or whip up one from fake fur at the fabric store, and you're in business.

Same for the fake footprints. Pretty easy to fake mediocare stuff, so the ease of hoaxing I think lends to more attempts, and more headaches for more credible encounters and claims.

Bill

[Guest]

There is a lack of research on the topic of hoaxing and the psychology of it. Basically, it seems to be an extension of pathological lying--lying when you don't have to, lying when you begin to believe it yourself and no longer know the difference. Just all the time. It is not a disorder, but a symptom, apparently. Also a lack of information and research on pathological lying.

May be part of mental disorders such as conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, borderline, who knows what all...Some thalamus problems..... in other words, they are mental. Don't even try to figure it out, it's just brain damage. They are just off kilter in the membrane.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Kings Canyon

[steenburg]

I think one of the main reasons for on going hoaxing comes from the fact that publicity and being the centre of attention for a while does strange things to some people. There have been so many over the last 30 years or so, I have noticed a pattern in many. The person starts out as a witness to something, IE a footprint finding or a sighting of the creature its self. Researchers show up. sometimes the media gets wind of it and they show up. The witness becomes intrigued with being the centre of attention for awhile than it starts to peter off. The witness whom may have indeed seen or found something of merit than takes up researching them selves. Time gos by and nothing else is found but the memory of the attention is a heavy draw on their mind. So they start pulling a few stunts to get the attention back. Hoping to come across something real, or the attention is what they crave in the first place and it gets to the point they can't go out their back door with out finding Sasquatch evidence. Every sound in the dark is Sasquatch, every tree branch formation Sasquatch did it. Every noise is a Sasquatch vocalization. etc, etc. Then this person starts taking photos of blobs in the distance or blurry closeups open to interpretation with wild amassing stories how this all came about. Works great for them until they get caught, then they are spending all of their time on damage control. The stories about the encounters change to adjust to questions they didn't think off etc, etc. And they just carry on in a non ending circle. I have seen so much of this type of behavior that I gave it my own pet name. (Ivan Marks Syndrome) Ivan was the first real sample of this so I used his name. I have seen this time and time again. They even become addicted to the behavior and continue even though most realize that it is all nonsense. They can always find a few individuals whom will follow their every word. The sad thing is this type of person will always be there. All researchers can do is expose what they know so only a few will follow the hoaxer on his or her on going snipe hunt.

Thomas Steenburg

Edited August 27, 2011 by steenburg

[Guest BuzzardEater]

What's a lot of fun for me is that we aren't even certain who the hoaxer is or where the boundaries of the hoaxing might be. I occasionally point out that there are pre european examples of people living in the same lifestyle as the Sasquatch people. They were nomadic with ritual burials and used no more tools or weapons than they could carry. These people occasionally wore skins with the fur out to chase the timid mariners out of thier villages. Yet, there is no discussion of Sasquatch fakery done by the Sasquatches! I would suggest that if there is human involvement, there will be mischief. If Sasquatches are a type of human....!

[Guest]

I've actually written articles on the motivations behind hoaxing before.

Coming from a forensic interview background, I've found that hoaxers seem to break down in one of four categories.

1- The Jokers - Hoaxers whom hoax for a laugh, a stunt or a joke. (Kids in gorilla costumes)

2- The Pychological Needy - Hoaxers whom hoax out of a need for attention, or whom may be lonely, or are in fantasy. (Remember the "Mr. Mike" Saga or The Bigfoot Ballyhoo)

3- Bigfootitis - People whom may see something legitimate and then from there, EVERYTHING that goes bump in the night is attributable to Bigfoot. Unintentional hoaxers.

4- The Profit Driven - Hoaxers whom hoax out of an attempt to monetarily attempt to capitalize on such actions. (Ivan Marx, Biscardi are good examples)

[Incorrigible1]

A pox upon the hoaxers of the world. May the fleas of 1000 camels inhabit their nether-regions.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Incorrigible1

[Guest]

Lots of different motivations exist for hoaxing. It depends on what the pay off happens to be, which is not always monetary. I would suggest looking into the psychology of fame to find some of answers because bigfoot hoaxing doesn't appear to be particularly lucrative. Fame is a matter of opinion too but some think being well known in bigfoot world meets those requirements.

The best hoaxes around are the ones that leave you wondering if the event really was a hoax after all. They create endless hours of debate for years after the event occurs. Some of my favorites are Mel's Hole, John Titor the Time Traveler, and of course, the PGF.

Mel's Hole is a good one but the red flag there for me was his departure to establish a Wombat refuge in Australia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel%27s_Hole

John Titor and the PGF- I'm leaning towards a non hoax here but I could be wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor

All of these are old stories but people still debate the veracity of all of them and they sure are entertaining.

Ooooh John Titor is a good one... I spent about a good week reading up on him after the first time I heard about it! Fun stuff...

[Doc Holliday]

A pox upon the hoaxers of the world. May the fleas of 1000 camels inhabit their nether-regions.

Very good inc1,I must agree,lol.

Everyone has had excellent replies,appreciate the professional input from bill & squatchdetective. Experience counts & I'm sure you fellas have seen it all over time.

There are many possible reasons, keep 'em coming. & any ideas on how to expose those who do hoax?

[steenburg]

Very good inc1,I must agree,lol.

Everyone has had excellent replies,appreciate the professional input from bill & squatchdetective. Experience counts & I'm sure you fellas have seen it all over time.

There are many possible reasons, keep 'em coming. & any ideas on how to expose those who do hoax?

The best ways to discover hoaxing are simple, research, investigate, and use a hearty amount of common sense while doing so. Exposing is simple. Do not remain quite about it.

Thomas Steenburg

Edited August 27, 2011 by steenburg

[Doc Holliday]

The best ways to discover hoaxing are simple, research, investigate, and use a hearty amount of common sense while doing so. Exposing is simple. Do not remain quite about it.

Thomas Steenburg

good point mr steenburg, blowing the whistle on the guilty should nip it for the individual in question at that time.

your experienced opinion is valued as well,thank you sir.

[Guest Biggie]

To me why they do it is because they are miserable losers who can find nothing else better to do with their lives. I would think considerable negative attention would stop them but being pathetic they may discover that they rather like having that too. If it were up to me for any hoaxer caught I'd mandate a fine and community service with them cleaning up trash from the woods including any disturbance of it such as fake foot prints from them during the hoax.

[Guest RayG]

Has anyone mentioned the unintentional hoaxer?

Person #1 wandering through the woods, comes across an imprint/mark in the dirt that's roughly foot-shaped, but lacking toes. Person #1 proceeds to add toes to the imprint, for no other reason than it makes the full imprint look totally cool. Person #2 wanders along after person #1 is long gone, but the imprint is still visible. Person #2 interprets the imprint as that of a large barefoot biped, and remembers that day years later when someone mentions bigfoot.

I was person #1 many years ago.

RayG