Was this heart tugging story a hoax? (SEE UPDATE BELOW)
Brooke Greenberg weighs 13 pounds and is 27 inches long.But Brooke is actually 12 years old, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore.
Brooke doesn’t age. Her syndrome remains undiagnosed and unnamed, and as far as doctors can tell, she is the only one in the world who has it.
“In height, weight, she’s 6 to 12 months,” Pakula said. “If you ask any physician who knows nothing about her, the response is that she is maybe a handicapped 2-year-old.”
When I wrote a post on this story on Friday, there were several dozen links to various TV News websites all carrying exactly the same story. They had all re-broadcast the original WBAL piece and used the same teaser on their websites.
All links to the story have now disappeared. The only links that work are to blogs that posted on the story in the first place.
A Welsh View has a cached copy of the original broadcast of the story. But that’s it. Every newsite that carried a blurb on poor little Brooke has yanked the piece from their websites.
Why?
Yesterday, I sent an email to WBAL in Baltimore asking them if the story was a hoax. I have yet to hear back from them. I’ve gotten about 200 search engine hits all referencing “Brooke Greenberg” so I know that there are a lot of people wondering the same thing.
At the moment, there just aren’t any good answers.
I’m going to stay on top of this all day today. I may even call WBAL and find out what the heck is going on. In the meantime, if you go to WBAL’s website, they have a drop down menu for sending emails. I urge everyone who’s interested to send them an email asking about this story.
If you get any kind of an answer, I’d appreciate it if you shared it with me. Send the info to elvenstar522-at-AOL-dot-com. (Remove hyphens).
Let’s get to the bottom of this.
UPDATE:
A Welsh View has also done an update on the story and with a little digging, found out that the story goes back to at least 2001.
A hoax? Probably not. So why pull the story? Did the parents intervene? Since they cooperated in the making of the story in the first place that seems hard to imagine.
Don’t ya just love mysteries?
UPDATE
I finally received an answer to the email I sent to WBAL in Baltimore asking if the story was a hoax. Here’s their response in its entirety:
Good morning,
Due to certain agreements, we are unable to provide additional informationon this story. It was not a hoax.
“Certain agreements” could mean anything. It could mean that the family didn’t realize the worldwide noteriety that would accompany the story after Drudge linked to the WBAL webstory and requested that it be pulled. Or it could be something contractural having to do with the news service that carried the story on so many websites (57 TV and radio sites by my count).
Regardless, while an insatisfactory answer, the only important thing is that the story is in fact true and not a hoax.
UPDATE II (5/18)
I received an email from WBAL telling me that the story is once again “active.”
No explanation. No rhyme nor reason to it.
Here’s a link to the same story that appeared originally.
7:27 am
MSNBC are still carrying the story but have removed the images.
7:59 am
Brooke Greenberg Update
Over the past 24 hours I have noticed an increase in people visiting my site looking for info on Brooke Greenberg, the 12yo girl who is not aging. I’m still not sure what the score is with this story and
8:34 am
You may want to contact Internet Broadcast Systems, Inc. who were responsible for publishing the story on the many dozens of news sites that carry it.
If you are interested, here’s Google’s cache of the original story on TheDenverChannel.
9:55 am
Is she wearing the same pink shirt in all the pictures? Even the Japanese website has her in the same pink shirt and that is from a few years ago.
11:08 am
I just watched brooke greenberg today 5/18. it’s still on wbal’s site
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4484968/detail.html
9:39 am
The “Gulf News” published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates run a same story. I belive it to be true. It is http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/WorldNF.asp?ArticleID=166201
12:04 pm
The Telegraph in London is covering it. I thought it was a hoax, apparently NOT?
11:48 am
I just watched a news review from dateline on little Brooke Greenberg and began to look for more information on the syndrome she has as a medical curiosity and my insatiable desire to know more about this beautiful little girl and her family who has a strength and peace that I hope and pray for everyday.
As I have looked through several web sites trying to find more information on this beautiful little girl and her awesome parents one thing keeps coming to mind. Shame on all of you who think that this is a hoax and is something to laugh about. This girl was given to her family for a reason that only God knows but she was not given to be a source of speculation and amusement for all who wish to make jokes about her. You should all pray for her daily and pray that you are never in the same place she and her parents are as many of you don’t have what it takes to deal with this sort of prediciment. I would love to find some medical information on this syndrome so if anyone has something intelligent and informative to tell about this young lady and her very rare condition please post that and quit with the speculations on whether it is a hoax or not
12:11 pm
Perhaps if you bothered to read the post, you wouldn’t make ridculous comments.
The reason why there was a belief the story was a hoax are outlined in the post.
There is no attempt anywhere in the post to make fun of the girl or her family.
These things you would know if you bothered to read the post. Instead, you made an ad hominem attack with no basis in fact.
...or maybe you didn’t understand what you read? IN which case I would recommend a remedial reading course.
4:23 pm
When every single reference to a story is taken off the pages of 57 news sites, I believe there is more than ample reason to believe that a story may have been a hoax.
The internet is full of hoaxes and as someone who wrote about Ms. Greenberg, I owed it to my readers to determine whether or not the story was true.
Talk about ignorant…you are reading a story that was researched many months ago by people who care about whether the story was true or whether it was a hoax. You are the beneficiary of that research in that someone other than you tracked down the sources and determined the truth of the matter.
It’s ignorant to use 20/20 hindsight to judge me or anyone else who tracked this story to try and solve the mystery of why more than 57 TV stations that ran the story then suddenly pulled every reference to the story off their websites.
11:19 pm
There is an update to the story:
http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=66b1ec05-b263-438a-a28e-ea3c513721b0&t=c150&f=06/64&p=News_Top News
11:11 am
From reading the above responses from others to Rick Morans post it seems to me that he has a persecution complex…he feels that he may have an opinion on this subject, but anyone with a differing opinion than his or a comment on what he wrote is an idiot, that sounds to me like the pot calling the kettle black. Toughen up Mr. Moran everyone is intitled to an opinion and to post it just as you have on Brooke Greenburg and the thoughts that it is or is not a hoax.
3:17 pm
Excuse me but I took both those dingbats to task because they obviously did not read the post.
If you are going to criticize, fine. But at least have the wits to read the article before you insult me.
K. Hale accused me of making fun of the girl in the post. Where? Also in the article I explain why there was a question as to whether or not the story was real. Ignored by Hale.
Similarly Kelsey accuses me of saying it was a hoax. A simple reading of the article would have disabused the dingbat of any such notion. By reading the entire post – which was updated over a two day period – she would have discovered that I took the trouble to email WMAL about the story. That TV station then emailed me back saying the story was not a hoax.
Someone please tell me why I have to use my comment section to explain what any 7 year old should be able to read above?
1:55 pm
this is a very heartwarming story, one of love joy and happiness.
id like to extend my very best wishes to Brooke and her family who have went through a long journey.
they deserve the happiness.
3:53 pm
I agree with Rick Moran. Lets get logical about this, and stop to read, what is originally being said, then come to conclusions..opinions…etc. How tiring it is that no one can comment, or question anything in this given world, without righteous indignation…martyrdom
ad nauseum. No one was attacking, or belittling…or making fun of Her parents..and especially Brooke Greenberg. There is so many hoaxes out there in the real world that people have to be careful nowadays for what they are told..or read..or see, and when something disappears when we you want to check on this young girl’s life…or maybe help…there was nothing to find all of a sudden.
1:25 pm
I also agree with Rick Moran and Paula M. After reading the article, I in no way felt that Rick was belittling or making fun of the situation. And he has a valid point of asking weither or not this was a hoax. I think Hale jumped to conclusions when posting. Perhaps Hale is a bit too sensitive and tends to take things the wrong way. And Paula’s right about there being so many hoaxes out there these days. Need I remind anyone here of the whole “Prophet Yahweh” incident in Arizona…(or nevada?...can’t remember now.)....which was aired on news brodcasts for weeks?
9:40 pm
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9:00 pm
hi. i’m a friend of brookes family. i live in baltimore close by. this is not a hoax. it is for real. ive held and played with baby brooke. dont go judging unless you know what is going on.
-arielle
8:07 pm
Hi, I don’t think anyone is judging and I have no idea what would even suggest that. People want to know the truth before they expend emotion or even time on a subject. You must admit that this is a very unusual case, so unusual in fact that no other person has the same illness. Why then is it so hard to understand that people are a bit apprehensive about taking it as the GH. It is scary to think that people will beleive anything they see simply because it seems like a real news cast. What if this was fake and some poor child with a disability was being filmed and used to create a hoax? That seems much more disrespectful to the child than people wanting to know the truth of her circumstance. I give much more credit to someone who is willing to put in the time and energy to find out the facts than someone who will beleive anything that they see or hear. Take it as a compliment that so many people care about this little girl. They just simply want to know that the person they are caring about is real.
12:08 pm
I read the Brooke Greenberg story a few years ago. I was more touched by it as with anything I have ever read. I am also curious and looking to see how she’s doing. But now that I realize their dilemma, I surely don’t blame them. I would suppose the mother and father are protecting their girl and themselves from having the public in their face. There are a lot of weirdos who would love to gawk at this once in a lifetime happening. Those parents are so sweet and loving. I was as impressed by them as I was with Brooke. Sweetest family. I think they just want their privacy. We wish them well.
3:02 am
Whatever got coded differently in her needs to be discovered before she dies and is lost forever. Yes its a nice story of family value, but she is a gift to the human race in more ways. It would be a great loss to not unlock that secret.
2:55 pm
She is not the only one in the world with this condition. I have a 28 year old granddaughter in London who hasn’t aged since age 2. However, she is perfect in every way. She has no deformities. Everyone who meets her believes she is 2 years old. Her parents keep her a secret to avoid exploitation. She talks and walks like a normal 2 year old. She plays with Barbies all day long. She has to keep making new friends because they all outgrow her. Every year she celebrates her 2nd Birthday with other 2 year olds. It’s truly a miracle!