Media Induced Factitious Disorder by Proxy

Perpetrators of Factitious Disorder by proxy are usually driven by motives such as garnering attention, mobilizing sympathy, acting out anger or controlling others. Widespread media coverage provides an opportunity for fulfilling all these needs. We describe a case of Factitious Disorder by proxy with a rather unusual ocular complaint. Circumstantial evidence indicates that the presentation may have been influenced by a similar case from the same locality in the preceding month, which received extensive media attention. The role of media on shaping psychopathology is discussed. Comparisons are drawn with other media influenced cases reported in the recently.