Update: ‘Hoaxed’ podcast

Hi all, EC here. Over the past several months, I’ve been working with Alexi Mostrous and his amazing team at Tortoise Media on “Hoaxed“, a six-part podcast about the Hampstead SRA hoax.

The podcast has been well received in the UK, as well as in Australia, Canada, and the USA. This has meant that it’s been making the news, but that sometimes comes with its own pitfalls.

While I’m glad that the podcast has been casting a critical eye on the hoax that inspired this blog, some of the resulting news articles have painted an unrealistic picture of my personal role in opposing the hoax.

Here are a few facts to keep in mind:

• While I did start the Google+ group of people who disbelieved Abraham and Ella’s story, I did not start this blog. That honour goes to Scarlet Scoop, who started the blog on 2 May 2015, and wrote over 1,000 posts before handing over the editing reins to me in August 2015.

• Nor was I responsible for assembling the legal case against Sabine McNeill. A small and stalwart group of mothers laid charges, spent countless hours gathering evidence, and pushed the Crown Prosecution Service to take McNeill to court. I did contribute some of the evidence, but it was not primarily my work which put her in prison.

• From start to finish, my role was always to report, as faithfully and clearly as possible, any and all news regarding the Hampstead hoax and those who believed it and promoted it, online and in person. This blog’s readers were an amazing and intrepid bunch, who donated their time, skills, and considerable energy to helping out in so many ways. All who took part have every reason to feel proud of what we accomplished here.

Writing this blog was an amazing experience, in large part because so many people gave freely of themselves. They recognised that a terrible wrong had been done, not just against Ella’s children and ex-partner(s), but against the children, parents, teachers, social workers, and others who were drawn into the hoax. Instead of running away from the fire, our readers ran directly toward it, and did all they could to fight it. I was honoured to act as reporter and convener. I do miss the work we all did, and I’m glad that it’s finally getting some public recognition.

If you’re here because you’ve been listening to the podcast and want more information about the hoax, I’d suggest you start with our “New to Hoaxtead?” page. There’s also a handy FAQ, where you can learn about more of the details.