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What was my original reaction to other reports that turned out to be hoaxes?

Let me answer a couple questions asked by commenters in the previous post, the post that expresses doubt about the report -- filed by Ashley Todd -- that a large black man, after robbing her, became enraged at the sight of a McCain bumper sticker on her car and viciously, lightly scratched a well-formed, upside-down "B" on her cheek.

Dualdiagnosis said:

The juxtaposition is [disconcerting], Crystal Magnum comes out with a book, and two posts later, this. I seem to remember the campus faculty going bonkers on the Duke rape charges, I wonder how the professors will act this time.

If this is a hoax she should be prosecuted.

How about you Ann? Were your reactions as dismissive last time?

Well, let me look that up for you. As a blogger, I am on record. Here is my first post on the subject. Excerpt:

Do you think you know which side is telling the truth in the Duke lacrosse team rape case? You shouldn't.

I've made a "Duke rape case" tag, so you can see all my old posts on the subject. I did not blog very much on this subject. (I see a post on the subject of Eugene Volokh's saying why he wasn't blogging very much about it.) I did post about the professors' letter that explain an earlier letter that supported the alleged victim. I said:

"The disaster is the atmosphere...." -- we're told. The students' perceptions matter and deserve to be "give[n] voice." But the professors don't like how they were perceived by the world outside the university; that was misreading. But if it is perception -- atmosphere -- that matters -- how can you think that you can contribute things to be perceived and avoid responsibility for the effect that you have?

Peter Hoh says:

There was a Madison kidnapping hoax in the spring of 2004. A quick search shows that Althouse did not blog about it.

I wonder if that was in the back of Ann's mind when she said that this incident seemed like a distraction.

I checked too, and I don't think I blogged about it. It was a local story, and it turned out to be a young woman who needed help. Bandying her name about was not helpful. You know, when you're blogging, you're always reaching out to grab at the latest things, but it's still important to think about not making problems worse. But that Madison case was not what popped to mind. Someone emailed to push me to blog about the story and my response was: 1. An expression of doubt, 2. "Doesn't belong in the spotlight," and 2. "Tawana Brawley. Bleh."

Why Tawana Brawley? It was the case of: 1. A young woman who did things to her own body, and 2. A cross-racial accusation.

Full post as published by Althouse on October 24, 2008 (boomark / email).