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8
Pepsi “Needle in the Can” case and the McDonald’s “Rat Tail in the French Fries” incident.19
A second type is the “attention getter hoax.” In such cases, a viper claims to have been a victim of a violent or serious crime, where no crime occurred, to get attention for being the victim, hence the term “attention-getting offensive hoax.” The viper uses these crimes to gain attention, going on the “offensive” by creating the hoax or faked crime. In these cases, the persons or groups on whom the fake crime is blamed suffer from legal and societal stigmatization. Examples of this type of hoax are the Audrey Seiler and Donna Walker cases.20
A third type is the “racial hoax.” In these cases the vipers commit a crime themselves, and then blame it on other persons because of their ethnicity, e.g., a Caucasian person claims to have been raped by a black person when, in fact, no rape occurred. 21 While all types of viper hoaxes are detrimental, the racial hoax presents a more dramatic danger of further stigmatizing and reinforcing pernicious stereotypes for the person(s) accused of the non-existent crime.22 The true victim or “truvi” may face long-term societal, psychological and legal ramifications of being wrongly accused of a crime that he/she did not commit or never that occurred.
19 In the Pepsi case, the hoaxer placed a medical needle inside a Pepsi can claiming that it was present when he opened the can. In the McDonald’s case, the hoaxer, a medical researcher, placed a deep-fried rat’s tail in a bag of French fries, claiming he had been served the rat’s tail. In both cases, the hoaxers sought financial settlements from the corporations.
20 In the Audrey Seiler case, the young woman walked away from her campus dorm and hid in nearby open space claiming she had been kidnapped. Her motive was to receive attention from her boyfriend. In the Donna Walker case, a woman phoned authorities claiming to be the daughter of the Sherrill’s who had been kidnapped when she was 4 years of age. Ms. Walker sought attention from authorities, the media, and financial support from the Sherrill family.
21 Persons can be specifically named individuals such as in the Tawana Brawley case, or a generic group such as in the Runaway Bride case.
22 The “accused” is usually from a protected minority class.
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 14 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 8 Pepsi “Needle in the Can” case and the McDonald’s “Rat Tail in the French Fries” incident.19 A second type is the “attention getter hoax.” In such cases, a viper claims to have been a victim of a violent or serious crime, where no crime occurred, to get attention for being the victim, hence the term “attention-getting offensive hoax.” The viper uses these crimes to gain attention, going on the “offensive” by creating the hoax or faked crime. In these cases, the persons or groups on whom the fake crime is blamed suffer from legal and societal stigmatization. Examples of this type of hoax are the Audrey Seiler and Donna Walker cases.20 A third type is the “racial hoax.” In these cases the vipers commit a crime themselves, and then blame it on other persons because of their ethnicity, e.g., a Caucasian person claims to have been raped by a black person when, in fact, no rape occurred. 21 While all types of viper hoaxes are detrimental, the racial hoax presents a more dramatic danger of further stigmatizing and reinforcing pernicious stereotypes for the person(s) accused of the non-existent crime.22 The true victim or “truvi” may face long-term societal, psychological and legal ramifications of being wrongly accused of a crime that he/she did not commit or never that occurred. 19 In the Pepsi case, the hoaxer placed a medical needle inside a Pepsi can claiming that it was present when he opened the can. In the McDonald’s case, the hoaxer, a medical researcher, placed a deep-fried rat’s tail in a bag of French fries, claiming he had been served the rat’s tail. In both cases, the hoaxers sought financial settlements from the corporations. 20 In the Audrey Seiler case, the young woman walked away from her campus dorm and hid in nearby open space claiming she had been kidnapped. Her motive was to receive attention from her boyfriend. In the Donna Walker case, a woman phoned authorities claiming to be the daughter of the Sherrill’s who had been kidnapped when she was 4 years of age. Ms. Walker sought attention from authorities, the media, and financial support from the Sherrill family. 21 Persons can be specifically named individuals such as in the Tawana Brawley case, or a generic group such as in the Runaway Bride case. 22 The “accused” is usually from a protected minority class. |
