| Kaycee Nicole | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | 1999 |
| Last appearance | 2001 |
| Created by | Kelli Jo Swenson |
| Portrayed by | Debbie Swenson |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Kaycee Nicole Swenson |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Student |
| Nationality | American |
Kaycee Nicole, also known as Kaycee Nicole Swenson, was a fictitious persona played by an American woman, Debbie Swenson (born Deborah Marie Dickman in 1960), in an early case of Münchausen by Internet.[1][2] Between 1999 and when the hoax was discovered in 2001, Swenson, playing the role of Kaycee, represented herself on numerous websites as a teenager suffering from terminal leukemia. Kaycee was reported to have died on May 14, 2001, and her death was publicized on May 16; shortly thereafter, members of the online communities that had supported her unraveled the story and discovered that Kaycee had never actually existed. Debbie Swenson confessed on her blog to the hoax on May 20, 2001.[3][4]
- ^ Hafner, Katie (31 May 2001). "A Beautiful Life, an Early Death, a Fraud Exposed". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Recupero, Patricia R. (2010). "The Mental Status Examination in the Age of the Internet". Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 38 (1): 15–26. PMID 20305070. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ^ "Girl's illness was Web hoax; The Topeka Capital-Journal; May 26, 2001". Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ Shreve, Jean (6 June 2001). "They Think They Feel Your Pain". Wired. Retrieved 26 April 2011.