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Belle Gibson

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Belle Gibson
Born
Annabelle Natalie Gibson

8 October 1991 (1991-10-08) (age 33)[1][2]
Known forFabricated claims of having had multiple cancers that were self-treated through diet and alternative medicine. Fabricated claims of undergoing multiple heart surgeries and having strokes. Fraudulent claims of donating $300,000 of income to charities.
PartnerClive Rothwell
Children1

Annabelle Natalie Gibson (born 8 October 1991)[1][2] is an Australian convicted scammer and pseudoscience advocate. She is the author of The Whole Pantry mobile app and its later companion cookbook. Throughout her career as a wellness guru, Gibson falsely claimed to have been diagnosed with multiple cancer pathologies, including malignant brain cancer, and that she was effectively managing them through diet, exercise, natural medicine, and alternative medicine therapies.[3] She additionally alleged that she had donated significant proportions of her income and her company's profits to numerous charities.

In March 2015, after reports identified Gibson's fraudulent claims regarding her charitable donations, media investigation found that she had also fabricated her stories of cancer, and lied about her age, personal life and history. Concerns were expressed that Gibson had led a profligate lifestyle, renting an upmarket town house, leasing a luxury car and office space, undergoing cosmetic dental procedures, purchasing designer clothes and holidaying internationally, using money claimed to have been raised for charity.[4] With a collapsing social media support base, Gibson admitted in an April 2015 interview that her claims of having multiple cancers had been fabricated, stating that "none of it's true".[5]

Her actions were described as "particularly predatory",[6] as well as "deceit on a grand scale, for personal profit".[7] On 6 May 2016, Consumer Affairs Victoria announced legal action against Gibson and Inkerman Road Nominees Pty Ltd (originally known as Belle Gibson Pty Ltd) for "false claims by Ms. Gibson and her company concerning her diagnosis with terminal brain cancer, her rejection of conventional cancer treatments in favour of natural remedies, and the donation of proceeds to various charities."[8] On 15 March 2017, the Federal Court of Australia supported most of those claims, concluding that "Ms. Gibson had no reasonable basis to believe she had cancer."[9]

Biography

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Gibson was born in Launceston, Tasmania. According to interviews she has given, she left her Brisbane family home at age 12 to live with a classmate, and later lived with a family friend.[10] Gibson attended Wynnum State High School in Manly, Queensland, until dropping out in Year 10,[11] although she also later claimed to have been homeschooled.[12] She worked for some time as a trainee for catering supply company PFD Food Services in Lytton,[13] but social media reflected that by late 2008 she had relocated to Perth, Western Australia. There, she was involved in the skateboarding culture and actively participated in its online community.[14][15] Gibson subsequently moved from Perth to Melbourne in July 2009 and became a mother one year later, at age 18. Gibson launched The Whole Pantry mobile app in August 2013, at age 21.

Gibson reportedly told a prospective business partner in 2014 that she had "several names" that she went under,[16] and in her most recent interview with The Australian Women's Weekly claimed "her mother changed her name five times".[17] Gibson's corporate filings indicate that she is three years younger than she publicly claims to be.[1]

The Whole Pantry

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After Gibson launched The Whole Pantry app, it was reportedly downloaded 200,000 times within its first month. It was voted Apple's Best Food and Drink App of 2013.[18] Gibson soon after signed a book deal with Lantern Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, for an accompanying table-top cookbook, which was published in October 2014. She further worked with Apple Inc. in September 2014 to transition the app as a privileged pre-installed default third-party inclusion in the Apple Watch's April 2015 launch.[19] By early 2015, it was estimated that in excess of $1 million had been made in sales of The Whole Pantry app and book.[20] Gibson chronicled her battle with cancer on a blog of the same name, but "doubts about her claims surfaced after she failed to deliver a promised $300,000 donation to a charity".[21]

Before doubts were raised about her health and charitable donation claims, Gibson had intended to expand her brand beyond the app, having earlier registered the domain The Whole Life, and advertised in December 2014 to recruit an IT specialist to expand the app and brand portfolio.[22] Both The Whole Pantry app and The Whole Life were registered by Gibson's partner, Clive Rothwell, in her corporate name.[23] The Whole Pantry registrar was amended in March 2015 after the controversy broke.[24]

While The Whole Pantry has unequivocally denied that Gibson ever helped anyone to reject conventional cancer treatment, Gibson has been quoted from her social media posts as claiming that she had "countless times helped others" to forgo conventional medical treatment for cancer and to treat themselves "naturally", as well as "leading them down natural therapy for everything from fertility, depression, bone damage and other types of cancer".[25]

Health claims

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In interviews, Gibson claimed to have had malignant brain, blood, spleen, uterine, liver, and kidney cancers,[3] which she attributed to a reaction to the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine.[13] When the book was launched in November 2014, Gibson claimed in its preface that she had been "stable for two years now with no growth of the cancer",[16] but her story soon emerged as inconsistent: she also told media outlets that the cancer had reached her liver and kidneys, and three months earlier had posted on The Whole Pantry's Facebook page that her cancer had spread to her brain, blood, spleen, and uterus. She previously claimed that she had undergone heart surgery several times and to have momentarily died on the operating table. Gibson also claimed to have had a stroke. However, she was unable to substantiate her medical claims nor name the doctors who diagnosed and treated her. She also did not bear any surgical scars from her apparent heart operations.[1]

Gibson's and The Whole Pantry's statements regarding the benefits of exercise, healthy eating and a positive mindset were uncontroversial, being widely acknowledged as conducive to holistic well-being. However, on her now-deleted Instagram account and in other social media, Gibson also promoted more controversial or potentially dangerous alternative medical practices, including Gerson therapy,[26] anti-vaccination, and the consumption of non-pasteurised raw milk.[27]

The highly controversial Gerson therapy had been similarly promoted by another Australian wellness blogger, Jessica Ainscough, whose funeral Gibson attended when Ainscough died from cancer in late February 2015. With approximately 97% of the Australian population under seven years of age immunised, Federal vaccination policy heavily penalises parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, by denying access to significant welfare and other benefits, worth approximately $11,700 per annum. The sale of raw milk for human consumption is illegal in Australia and, in Victoria, one three-year-old died and another four children under the age of five became seriously ill after consuming non-pasteurised milk in 2014.[28]

Charitable claims

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As Gibson's medical claims were being scrutinised, allegations emerged that charitable contributions raised in 2013 and 2014 had not been given to their intended causes.[25][29] Gibson denied the charges,[30] but Fairfax Media stated that she had "failed to hand over proceeds solicited in the name of five charities" and had "grossly overstated the company's total donations to different causes."[16] Two charities confirmed to The Australian newspaper that Gibson's company had used their names in fundraising drives but had either failed to deliver the donations or had inadequately accounted for the funds.[31]

Gibson had claimed on a number of occasions in 2014 that The Whole Pantry had donated approximately $300,000 to charities, including maternal healthcare in developing nations, medical support for children with cancer, and funding schools in sub-Saharan Africa.[32] In late 2014, when The Whole Pantry app was pre-installed on the Apple iPad, Gibson claimed through her Instagram account to be working with twenty different charities.[33] Gibson has long claimed in her LinkedIn professional networking profile, established in February 2013, to be a philanthropist.[34]

Gibson eventually admitted, in relation to fraud proceedings, that she had seriously overstated the level of charitable contributions that had been made. Subsequent media reports in March 2015 stated that it could be ascertained that only an estimated $7,000 of the previously claimed $300,000 had been donated to a total of three charities, with at least $1,000 of the $7,000 reportedly having been donated only after Gibson became aware of the Fairfax investigation into her earlier claims.[35] Another $1,000 of the $7,000 had been donated to a charitable cause under Rothwell's name, rather than Gibson's or the company name.[36]

Also in March 2015, the parents of a young child with brain cancer, whom Gibson had befriended, came forward to report that they had been unaware that Gibson had earlier been claiming to be fundraising for their child's treatment on their behalf. The family had never received any funds from her or The Whole Pantry, and suspected Gibson had been using information gleaned from the family's experiences to underpin her own claims to have brain cancer.[37]

Concern over publisher culpability

[edit]

As the controversy grew, questions began to be raised about Apple, Penguin and the Australian media's lack of due diligence in prima facie accepting Gibson's claims of having multiple cancers, an issue taken up by the ABC's Media Watch program.[38]

Apple Inc., in response to media enquiry in March 2015, declined to remove The Whole Pantry app from sale, stating that it was only concerned about the functionality of the app. However, The Whole Pantry was soon thereafter removed from inclusion in the Apple Watch launch. Apple subsequently deleted the app from the Apple Store, and removed it from all Apple Watch promotional material. Apple has not provided any public comment regarding the reasons behind the removal of the app,[39] but an internal email from an Australian executive to the company's US office acknowledged that the removal would be subject to comment.[19]

Lantern Books, when initially approached by investigative journalists, claimed it had not confirmed the validity of Gibson's cancer claims as it was not required for a cookbook.[40] Soon after, as the controversy grew, Penguin withdrew the book from sale, citing a lack of response from Gibson to its queries relating to the media accusations. However, Fairfax reported that Penguin had, prior to publication of the book, already quizzed and videotaped Gibson on her cancer story, as recounted in the preface.[41] Penguin agreed to pay A$30,000 to the Victorian Consumer Law Fund as a penalty for failing to validate the factual content of the book.[42]

Elle Australia magazine, published by Bauer Media Group, admitted that following a laudatory December 2014 story on Gibson, they had received but ultimately dismissed anonymous claims that she was fabricating her story.[43] A second Bauer magazine, Cosmopolitan, which had awarded Gibson its 2014 "Fun Fearless Female" social media award, admitted that it too had received and dismissed a similar email.[44] After Gibson's confessions, the magazine decided not to strip her of the award, stating that she had been "reader nominated and reader voted."[45] However, a month earlier, Cosmopolitan's associate editor stated that they "put forward the nomination myself", indicating that the magazine – not the public – had been instrumental in promoting Gibson's award.[44]

A conventional cancer research professional from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research also went public to state that, by failing to conduct basic fact checking and providing "unfiltered PR" to Gibson's untested claims, an uncritical media had been complicit in her "scam".[46]

Erasing the story

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Once the controversy surfaced in the media, The Whole Pantry began removing any comments made on its (since deleted) Facebook page that questioned Gibson's claims, asserting that these comments only added to "the misinformation" of the initial Fairfax article. This selective deletion drew even more negative comment.[47]

Simultaneously, posts that Gibson had made on her Instagram account that made reference to her cancers or charitable donations were also selectively deleted.[48] Soon after, all posts were deleted from Gibson's and The Whole Pantry's Instagram accounts. Around the same time, individual postings about Gibson's cancer, and claims of having died briefly while under heart surgery, were also being selectively deleted by the administrator of her blog "at the request of a user".[31] Accounts across a number of social media platforms were soon either abandoned, made private, or deleted in their entirety.[26][citation needed]

Gibson subsequently established another Facebook account under the alias Harry Gibson, which was made private and used to hit back at Facebook followers questioning her claims or speaking to the media.[49]

Admission of deceit

[edit]

In late April 2015, Gibson gave an interview to The Australian Women's Weekly, in which she admitted to having fabricated all her cancer claims. Gibson attributed her deceit to her upbringing, and specifically to neglect by her now-estranged mother, claiming to having been forced to take care of herself and her brother since the age of five.[50] The interview was, however, described as an admission of deceit, without expression of regret or apology.[51] In a May 2015 interview with the same magazine, Gibson's mother Natalie Dal-Bello refuted several claims Gibson had made about her family, including the false claim that her brother was autistic.[52] Gibson's Women's Weekly interview was arranged by Bespoke Approach, and Gibson was provided pro bono representation by the company during the interview.[50][53]

In June 2015, Gibson was rumoured to have received A$45,000 for an interview with Nine Network's 60 Minutes.[54][55]

[edit]

Consumer Affairs Victoria brought legal action against Gibson for allegedly breaking Australian consumer law. The regulator said it had conducted an in-depth investigation of Gibson's activities and applied to Australia's Federal Court for leave to pursue legal action. Gibson's publisher, Penguin Australia, has already agreed to pay $30,000 to the Victorian Consumer Law Fund as a penalty for releasing The Whole Pantry, which was not fact checked.[8][56]

On 15 March 2017, Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer delivered the decision that "most but not all" of the claims against Gibson were proven. Gibson did not appear in court for the decision. Justice Mortimer found that Gibson's claims had been misleading and deceptive, and that "Ms. Gibson had no reasonable basis to believe she had cancer from the time she began making these claims in public to promote The Whole Pantry Book and the apps in mid-2013", but there was not enough evidence to prove that she was not acting out of delusion.[9][57][58]

In September 2017, Gibson was fined $410,000 for making false claims about her donations to charity.[59][60] As of April 2019, Gibson had not yet paid the fine, and authorities were seeking power to charge her with contempt of court. A new trial was set for 14 May and she faced an undetermined number of years in jail if she did not attend.[61][62] As of mid-September 2019, Gibson still had not paid, claiming to be broke, and Consumer Affairs Victoria were still seeking to enforce the penalty.[63] In a 2017 letter later released by the Federal Court, Gibson had stated that she was $170,000 in debt, and had $5,000 to her name.[64]

House raid by police

[edit]

On 22 January 2020, the Sheriff's Office of Victoria raided Gibson's home in Northcote and seized items to recoup Gibson's unpaid fines,[65] which, due to interest and costs, exceeded half a million dollars.[66]

Her home was raided again on 21 May 2021 to "try to recoup her unpaid fines".[67]

Claimed adoption into Oromo community

[edit]

The day after the first raid, on 23 January 2020, a Shabo Media video from October 2019 surfaced in which Gibson was wearing a headscarf and speaking partially in Oromo language (referring to herself as "Sabontu"), discussing the political situation in Ethiopia with an interviewer and referring to Ethiopia as "back home". She professed to have been adopted by the Ethiopian community in Melbourne after volunteering for four years, calling the adoption a gift from "Allah".[68][69]

However, on the same day, the president of the Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria, Tarekegn Chimdi, stated that Gibson was not a registered volunteer, "is not a community member and she's also not working with the community," and that he had seen her at events only two or three times. He expressed that nobody seemed to know who she was, and he had only just learned of her backstory, and expressed a desire for her to stop saying she is part of the community.[70][71]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Guilliatt, Richard (10 March 2015). "Mega-blogger Belle Gibson casts doubt on her own cancer claims". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b "'We Checked Belle's Birth Certificate' Women's Weekly Editor Helen McCabe Tells B&T". 30 June 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2018. the magazine [Women's Wear Daily] has seen a birth certificate provided by her mother, Natalie, which clearly states she was born on 8 October 1991...
  3. ^ a b Lusher, Adam (17 March 2015). "The Whole Pantry withdrawn: Holistic recipe book taken off shelves as Belle Gibson's cancer claims are disputed". Encyclopedia of Things. The Independent. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. ^ Toscano, Nick; Donelly, Beau (14 March 2015). "Supporters turn on Belle Gibson as cancer claims unravel". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  5. ^ Donelly, Beau; Toscano, Nick (22 April 2015). "The Whole Pantry author Belle Gibson admits she lied about having terminal cancer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  6. ^ Montague, Jules (30 April 2015). "Münchausen by internet: the sickness bloggers who fake it online". The Guardian Australia. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018.
  7. ^ Tuohy, Wendy. "Belle Gibson: a story of deceit, betrayal of trust on a grand scale". Herald Sun. NewsCorp. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Belle Gibson to face legal action over claims, Penguin agrees to enforceable undertaking - Media release". Consumer Affairs Victoria. 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Disgraced wellness blogger Belle Gibson facing more than $1 million in fines". 9 News. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  10. ^ "The Whole Pantry founder inspires in the face of terminal cancer". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Wellness guru Belle Gibson 'opposed vaccination, backed medical cannabis'". The Courier Mail. 13 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  12. ^ Donelly, Beau; Toscano, Nick (12 March 2015). "'Cancer survivor' Belle Gibson retains lawyer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Mega blogger Belle Gibson described herself as a 'distinguished psychopath'". The Courier Mail. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  14. ^ "santa clause: Page 2". skateboard.com.au.
  15. ^ "Back in Hospital - Round Three". skateboard.com.au. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  16. ^ a b c Donelly, Beau; Toscano, Nick (10 March 2015). "Friends and doctors raise doubts over 'Healing Belle' cancer claims". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  17. ^ Weaver, Clair. "What it's really like to interview Belle Gibson". The Australian Women's Weekly. Baeur Media. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  18. ^ Swire-Thompson, Briony; Lazer, David (2020). "Public Health and Online Misinformation: Challenges and Recommendations". Annual Review of Public Health. 41: 433–451. doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094127. PMID 31874069.
  19. ^ a b Toscano, Nick; Donelly, Beau (19 November 2017). "Apple exposed over Belle Gibson affair". The Age. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  20. ^ "What we know about Belle Gibson". Elle. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  21. ^ Mendham, Tim (June 2015). "Not Healthy" (PDF). The Skeptic. 35 (2). Australian Skeptics: 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Remote Design Job - UI / UX Designer @ The Whole Pantry - WFH.io". wfh.io. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  23. ^ "Thewholelife.com Whois Lookup - Who.is - Who.is". who.is.
  24. ^ "TheWholePantryApp.Com". Who.Is. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  25. ^ a b Donelly, Beau; Toscano, Nick (9 March 2015). "Backlash over app developer Belle Gibson's missing charity money". The Age. Fairfax Australia. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  26. ^ a b Debelle, Penelope; Hadfield, Shelley (16 March 2015). "Belle Gibson and The Whole Pantry: Is her story fact or fiction?". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA: News Corp. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  27. ^ Jefferson, Andrew; Cavanagh, Rebekah. "Lifestyle blogger Belle Gibson slips up on booze, milk". Herald Sun. NewsCorp. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  28. ^ Milman, Oliver. "Victoria launches crackdown on sale of 'raw' unpasteurised milk". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Ltd. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  29. ^ Donelly, Beau; Toscano, Nick (10 March 2015). "Belle Gibson, the missing charity money and the confounding cancer claims". Essential Baby. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  30. ^ Whigham, Nick (10 March 2015). "Belle Gibson's The Whole Pantry refutes claims about charity donations". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  31. ^ a b Guilliatt, Richard. "Whole Pantry founder Belle Gibson's stories of beating terminal cancer erased from internet". Herald Sun. NewsCorp. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  32. ^ Barker, Garry (17 July 2014). "Pop into The Pantry app for a healthier lifestyle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  33. ^ "Belle Gibson // thewholepantry@healing_belle". Populagram. Populgram, Instagram. 2014. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  34. ^ "Belle Gibson, The Whole Pantry". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  35. ^ Donelly, Beau; Toscano, Nick (8 March 2015). "Charity money promised by 'inspirational' health app developer Belle Gibson not handed over". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  36. ^ "Supporters - The ASRC Food Justice Truck - StartSomeGood: Igniting Ideas, Investment & Impact". StartSomeGood. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  37. ^ Cavanagh, Rebekah (21 March 2015). "Family of desperately ill boy fear health guru Belle Gibson used their son to bolster her cancer claims". Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  38. ^ Barry, Paul (16 March 2015). "How the media fell for Belle". ABC.NET.AU. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  39. ^ Riley, Duncan (17 March 2015). "Fake cancer survivor Belle Gibson's app pulled from App Store, still linked to Apple Watch though". Siliconangle.com. SiliconANGLE Media. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  40. ^ Hallbaeck, Jan (16 March 2015). "The 'hole' in the pantry story: should Penguin have validated Belle Gibson's cancer claims?". The Conversation. The Conversation Trust. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  41. ^ Donelly, Beau; Toscano, Nick (16 March 2015). "Publisher Penguin pulls Belle Gibson cook book The Whole Pantry". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  42. ^ "Belle Gibson: Australian blogger who faked cancer faces legal action". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  43. ^ Lawrence, Vanessa. "What we know about Belle Gibson". Elle Australia. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  44. ^ a b Sams, Lauren (17 March 2015). "An honest account of our experience with Belle Gibson". Cosmopolitan Australia. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
  45. ^ Sharp, Annette (24 April 2015). "Cosmo defend failure to research Belle cancer claims and says she can keep Fun Fearless Female award". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  46. ^ Burke, Liz. "'They are all complicit': Cancer researcher Dr Darren Saunders slams Belle Gibson's 'enablers'". News Limited. News.com.au. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  47. ^ Ryall, Jenni. "The mystery of Belle Gibson, who claimed she cured cancer with clean living". Mashable Australia. Mashable Inc. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  48. ^ "Does Belle Gibson Actually Have Cancer?". Reality Based Medicine. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  49. ^ Cavanagh, Rebekah; Tuohy, Wendy. "Belle Gibson slams 'fake cancer' claims in online rant". Herald Sun. NewsCorp. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  50. ^ a b Sullivan, Rebecca. "Belle Gibson: 'No, None of it is true'". news.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  51. ^ Cunningham, Matt (25 April 2015). "Nothing to like about this pretty little liar". Herald Sun. NewsCorp Ltd. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  52. ^ "Belle Gibson's mum slams troubled childhood claims as 'a lot of rubbish'". 18 May 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  53. ^ Jeffrey, James (23 April 2015). "Toil for the Belle". The Australian. NewsCorp Australia. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  54. ^ Willis, Charlotte (25 June 2015). "Belle Gibson promises to tell the whole truth: 'I have lost everything'". News.Com.Au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017.
  55. ^ Guilliatt, Richard (25 June 2015). "Nine Network faces backlash over 60 Minutes interview with Belle Gibson". The Australian. News Corp. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  56. ^ "Belle Gibson: Australian blogger who faked cancer faces legal action". BBC News. 6 May 2016.
  57. ^ Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria v Gibson [2017] FCA 240 (15 March 2017), Federal Court.
  58. ^ Cavanagh, Rebekah (15 March 2017). "Belle Gibson backs new health fad ahead of court judgment". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  59. ^ Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria v Gibson (No 3) [2017] FCA 1148 (28 September 2017), Federal Court.
  60. ^ Percy, Karen (28 September 2017). "Fake wellness blogger Belle Gibson fined over cancer claims". Australian Broadcasting Commission.
  61. ^ Oaten, James (28 November 2018). "Belle Gibson faces jail time if $410k fine for cancer fraud goes unpaid". ABC News. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  62. ^ Khalil, Shireen (17 April 2019). "Belle Gibson to explain why she hasn't paid $410k fine for duping sick Aussies". News.Com.Au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020.
  63. ^ Squires, Mandy (14 September 2019). "Revealed: Belle Gibson's life in Melbourne". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). News Corp.
  64. ^ "2017 letter Belle Gibson wrote detailing debts released". News.Com.Au. News Pty Ltd. 18 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020.
  65. ^ Urban, Rebecca (22 January 2020). "Belle Gibson's home raided by sheriff over cancer fraud fine". The Australian. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  66. ^ AAP (22 January 2020). "Sheriff raids cancer fraudster Belle Gibson's home over unpaid fine". The New Daily. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020.
  67. ^ Rizmal, Zalika (21 May 2021). "Home of cancer fraudster Belle Gibson raided by Victoria's Sheriff's Office over unpaid fines". abc.net.au. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  68. ^ "Cancer fraudster Belle Gibson 'adopted' by Ethiopian community". The New Daily. 23 January 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020.
  69. ^ Kinsella, Elise (23 January 2020). "Belle Gibson 'adopted' by Ethiopian community". ABC News. Australia. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020.
  70. ^ Akerman, Tessa (24 January 2020). "Cancer fraudster rejected by Ethiopians". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  71. ^ Smith, Rohan (24 January 2020). "Belle Gibson has been adopted by Ethiopian community in Melbourne". News.Com.Au. News Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020.
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