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2
ials,
that ensued. Evaluation and analysis of the incidents are considered at the conclusion of each chapter. Following the hoax category chapters are policy recommendations dedicated to what has been learned and suggest what should be included in new anti-hoax laws, as we look toward the future. The use of the case study approach assists in opening a dialogue on the topic and provides understanding with which to start analysis and encourage further study.
Typology of Hoaxes
There are many kinds of deliberately harmful hoaxes. Email hoaxes happen when people try to defraud the gullible of their money. 2 Anthrax hoaxes occur when people send baby powder to corporate or government offices where officthinking it might be anthrax, evacuate the buildings requiring the services of a hazardous materials team.3 There are also identity hoaxes, scholarly hoaxes, journalistic hoaxes, and the ever popular “bathtub hoax.”4 These types of hoaxes, which are similar to pranks, are consistent with the Winston Dictionary definition of a hoax, “a humorous or mischievous trick; a fraud played off as a jest.”5 In a consideration of fraud, one author states:
2 The vast majority of email hoaxes originate in Nigeria.
3 An anthrax hoax is considered to be a terrorist hoax. Terrorist hoaxes are a significantly different type of hoax and are not included in this paper. First, they may include international connections as aspect that differs from the criminal hoax dealt with herein. They are have different motivators as they are meant to instill fear and terror in the public of imminent chemical, biological or nuclear disaster.
4 Please see Hoaxes by Curtis MacDougall, pp. 302-309 for the complete history of the H.L. Mencken bathtub hoax. To summarize, Mencken wrote a fictional account of the first American bathtub, including that it “was inaugurated with a stag party at which the entertainment consisted of trying it out.” The story was taken seriously and re-counted numerous times as fact, even though Mencken himself persistently explained that the story was not true, but a humorous anecdote for the difficult times.
5 William Dodge Lewis, Henry Seidel Canby, Thomas Kite Brown, Jr., The Winston Dictionary, College Edition, The John C. Winston Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1942, p. 460.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 8 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 2 ials, that ensued. Evaluation and analysis of the incidents are considered at the conclusion of each chapter. Following the hoax category chapters are policy recommendations dedicated to what has been learned and suggest what should be included in new anti-hoax laws, as we look toward the future. The use of the case study approach assists in opening a dialogue on the topic and provides understanding with which to start analysis and encourage further study. Typology of Hoaxes There are many kinds of deliberately harmful hoaxes. Email hoaxes happen when people try to defraud the gullible of their money. 2 Anthrax hoaxes occur when people send baby powder to corporate or government offices where officthinking it might be anthrax, evacuate the buildings requiring the services of a hazardous materials team.3 There are also identity hoaxes, scholarly hoaxes, journalistic hoaxes, and the ever popular “bathtub hoax.”4 These types of hoaxes, which are similar to pranks, are consistent with the Winston Dictionary definition of a hoax, “a humorous or mischievous trick; a fraud played off as a jest.”5 In a consideration of fraud, one author states: 2 The vast majority of email hoaxes originate in Nigeria. 3 An anthrax hoax is considered to be a terrorist hoax. Terrorist hoaxes are a significantly different type of hoax and are not included in this paper. First, they may include international connections as aspect that differs from the criminal hoax dealt with herein. They are have different motivators as they are meant to instill fear and terror in the public of imminent chemical, biological or nuclear disaster. 4 Please see Hoaxes by Curtis MacDougall, pp. 302-309 for the complete history of the H.L. Mencken bathtub hoax. To summarize, Mencken wrote a fictional account of the first American bathtub, including that it “was inaugurated with a stag party at which the entertainment consisted of trying it out.” The story was taken seriously and re-counted numerous times as fact, even though Mencken himself persistently explained that the story was not true, but a humorous anecdote for the difficult times. 5 William Dodge Lewis, Henry Seidel Canby, Thomas Kite Brown, Jr., The Winston Dictionary, College Edition, The John C. Winston Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1942, p. 460. |
