Don't feel too bad - some of the top publications of our time have been duped by liars and plagiarists. It is one of those sad facts of life that there are always a few people who will act in unethical ways.

I appreciate your kindness in not vilifying the writer. Your compassion is impressive.

What an unethical, cruel and twisted thing to lie about! Thanks for your ongoing commitment to transparency and ethical dealings, Lisa. 

KimBlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Thanks for writing this, Lisa!  As a long time blog reader I've seen a lot of hoaxes come and go. What really impresses me about this situation is the thoughtfulness and care of a lot of the communities that were involved, as the sad story of the hoax became apparent.  Christian mom bloggers and people who have suffered the loss of a child, I thought, were strongly affected by April's story and then by the shock of this week's revelations. Despite being upset and angry and feeling betrayed, many of the people involved blogged with compassion and sadness instead of lashing out at the perpetrator of the hoax.

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Liz Henry
Composite: Tech & Poetics

lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Cont

I'm shocked and disappointed that someone would do this. Thanks for handling it so graciously. 

While the easier approach would have been to just not comment, I'm grateful (and impressed) that BlogHer stepped up and made their thoughts on this twisted situation known.  It's also nice to know that BlogHer stands behind their guidelines and terms of use.  It gives me a little bit more confidence in the BlogHer network as a whole. 

It's sad that someone so obviously troubled has had such a negative impact on an amazing community, leaving us doubting and questioning.  While we should all keep in mind that not everything we read is true, and that there's always a possibility of something being a scam, most bloggers trust each other instinctively, assuming the best of each other.  

As angry as I am, I do hope she gets the help she so obviously needs.  

By your thoughtfulness and candor in this post.  The story reminds me of Janet Cooke, a former journalist at the Washington Post, who wrote an award winning series of stories about a young Black boy in D.C. who was a heroin addict and, if I remember correctly, was supplied drugs by his family.  It turned out to be a hoax. 

You've handled this well. 

http://blog.candelarisilva.com

Good and plenty!

Don't feel too bad. How could you have known? The thing about blogging is that you really don't have any way of telling what is true and what is false. We go on faith as readers, and as women who aspire to be apart of something bigger than ourselves.

Sometimes writers lie. Look at all the memoirs that turned out to be gross exagerations. I'm thinking about A Million Little Pieces as I write this, and how even Oprah, queen of the media, was duped.

All we can do is act with integrity ourselves and hope that those who are working together in this collective called blogging are doing the same.

Peace,
Kelly

http://www.ordinaryartblog.com

To Lisa and the BlogHer team, thank you for your honest and compassionate summary of a situation that is sad and disgusting on so many different levels. Thank you for enforcing and reiterating the BlogHer editorial guidelines and keeping truth and credibility a main priority for this site.

The April Rose story is local to me, and while reading the local newspaper's account and a good number of the almost 700 comments following, it seems that the truth is not always an easy thing to come by, for bloggers or the mainstream media.

vomviersen :: Kathi Wilson
http://rottweilers.brilliant-disguise.net/

While it is just so sad in so many ways, I admire the the handling of this situation at all levels.

I think it is a great demonstration of the strength of the blogging world. Readers were savvy enough to have suspicions raised, readers were compassionate enough to express sorrow and sympathy for a clearly troubled individual and the media (I include BlogHer in this) reported on the situation not with notoriety but with gravity.  

I think it was brilliantly managed by all.  But of course it would be.  Almost everyone involved was a woman. ;)

Marie

www.nourishourselves.blogspot.com

www.theshorebookworm.blogspot.com

I'm so glad you feel the way I was brought up and the way my daughter and her family have carried the tradition forward.  My mom threw everything on the table good or bad whatever we did and made us acknowledge and move forward (of course with some form of discipline when needed) and obviously these are your values as well.  If there weren't bad people in this world we wouldn't have wars and there'd be no hell and no madoff's, remember, so be proud your an honorable women giving a high quality blogging site to visit continue to stand tall while you teach us how to deal with deciet and those who have no regard for the effects bad actions have on the innocent.  We'll stand behind you and love being part of women who had a dream with the highest s standards and set a valuable standard for when things go wrong  openly dealing with anyone who doesn't get it and sharing the incident with us so we can learn more as well.

 I'm so pleased I stopped here today to hear about three women that I'm glad to be blogging friends with.

My very best,

Dorothy from grammology

grammology.com

http://grammology.com