Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Munchausen by Proxy on the Socials

09.25.2023 - By Jo PiazzaPlay

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Munchausen by Proxy has gotten a lot of attention lately with Patricia Arquette's star turn in the series The Act. MBP refers to when a caregiver abuses a child by pretending they are ill in order to get attention for themselves. With the rise and prevalence of social media there are more and more cases of Munchausen by Proxy and Munchausen syndrome happening in the digital world. There are cases of people pretending to be sick themselves to get attention and cases of caregivers pretending their children are ill to get attention, and sometimes to raise money. To talk about all of this I am joined by Andrea Dunlop, the host and executive producer of NOBODY SHOULD BELIEVE ME an investigative true crime podcast about Munchausen by proxy. Andrea is the founder of Munchausen Support, an online resource and non-profit that supports survivors and families. She is a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s Munchausen by proxy committee where she serves alongside some of the country’s foremost experts.

We talk about various cases of Munchausen on social media and how the average consumer of content can look out for it.

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