Australian influencer Belle Gibson, once hailed as a "fun fearless female" by Cosmopolitan, is being exposed as a fraud in a new ITV documentary titled "Instagram's Worst Con Artist."
Gibson rose to fame in 2013 as a health and food blogger, claiming to battle terminal brain cancer while being a young single mother. She amassed a huge following on Instagram, promoting a plant-based diet and alternative therapies as her supposed cure. In 2014, Belle Gibson won Cosmopolitan's Social Media Star award.
This narrative, however, unravelled spectacularly in 2015. Investigations by journalists and doubts raised by those who knew Gibson in real life revealed a shocking truth: she never had cancer, according to The Metro.
The documentary delves into Gibson's fabricated story, including false claims about donations to charity, a supposed relapse, and even invented details about her family. Her popular app and cookbook, promoting an unproven cancer-beating diet, were exposed as part of the elaborate con.
Gibson is now considered "Instagram's worst con artist" for exploiting the platform and manipulating her audience's trust for personal gain.
Who is Belle Gibson?
Belle Gibson, born in Launceston, Tasmania, gained fame as a health blogger in 2013, sharing her journey with terminal brain cancer. She advocated for a plant-based diet and alternative therapies over conventional treatment. Gibson's app and cookbook were successful. By early 2015, it was estimated that in excess of AUD 1 million had been made in sales of The Whole Pantry app and book.
Belle Gibson's home was raided twice for unpaid fines in 2020 and 2021. She owed money for her son's school fees and borrowed 47,000 Pounds from a housemate. Despite financial troubles, she spent extravagantly on a court appearance and a holiday. Gibson then immersed herself in Melbourne's Ethiopian community, falsely claiming adoption and fundraising efforts. Eventually, community leaders ousted her. Currently residing in Melbourne, Gibson has maintained a low profile since.
How Belle Faked Cancer?
Gibson stated that she had a reaction to a cervical cancer vaccine and had subsequently been diagnosed with malignant brain, blood, spleen, uterine, liver, and kidney cancers.
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". She said that she had eschewed conventional medical treatment and healed her body through diet and wellness measures.
Gibson's story inspired cancer sufferers, some of whom she claimed followed her in rejecting medicine, although that's unconfirmed. She became a major media celebrity, and held events to raise money for charity.
Her friend reportedly began to smell a rat and a journalist investigated her story more closely. They soon discovered the money Belle raised was never handed over, and her cancer diagnosis might be fake.
It was fake. Gibson had misled her millions of followers - and for some there were devastating consequences.
In late April 2015, Gibson told The Australian Women's Weekly that all of her cancer claims were fabricated. She cited her upbringing as a cause, and specifically blamed neglect by her now-estranged mother, claiming to having been forced to take care of herself and her brother since the age of five.
The Truth of Donations and Fundraisers
Gibson eventually admitted, in relation to fraud proceedings, that she had seriously overstated charitable contributions. Media reports in March 2015 stated that it could be ascertained that only an estimated AUD 7,000 of the previously claimed AUD 300,000 had been donated to a total of three charities.
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. This series discovers the truth with access to friends and family who speak on the record for the first time.
