If you make your own blog and write up fake stories that never really happened such as "12 year old girl steals 3 different cars" and so on, is that illegal? What are the consequences?
I don't think its illegal. Blogs don't carry certain rights of journalists because of the reason that they aren't bound to fact checking and such
Whatever anyone intends to write is part and parcel of his freedom of speech and expression, nobody could ever deny him that. But when he misrepresents a fake as genuine, or state a lie as a fact, that is already beyond his fundamental right. Any writer stands liable for every harm done against anybody as a result of falsehood or fraud in journalism. However, there is one outlet in journalism where anyone could write to his heart's content anything that he wishes to express, including what is not factual or true, and that is fiction literature. He could even cite references which do not actually exist just to build up his story, he will not be liable of perjury, after all nobody is expected to accept as truth the fictitious story that he labors to make with no malicious intent.
I'd stay away from making up stories as it only takes one person to challenge your facts and you could end up looking like a fool. However there's no issue with putting a unique twist on a real story to make it much more juicy.
True and Not True, depending on which country the OP is in. Also depending on how he wrote the story. If he wrote it as fictitious I guess there is no harm, but if it is similar to a well known personality and one can link to that personality by reading the stories, then he may be liable legal actions. But his post is quite vague without much specifications. Can only ask the OP to be wary when posting on the Internet or on any public forums.
No it's not illegal, belongs your not a proper journalist institution with authority, it's freedom of speech, BUT you'd be discredited.
Not so. Putting a unique twist on a REAL story has far worse implications of straying away from the truth. If you make something up then it is a work of fiction (often called a STORY ) and you can write what you like as long as you don't libel an individual or genuine company. If someone interprets your story as true then that is up to them as the reader. eg: Did you hear about the assasination attempt on Obama where that old lady was going to stab him with a poison tipped umbrella, and then there was the one about the 12 year old who stole 12 cars
As long as your stories do not include real persons or trademarks, etc. your made up stories should be fine.
I believe that it would be ok to do so, providing that no names were mentioned and you tried not to mention places. It would be immoral to write them, but I do not think that it would be illegal. (DO not quote me on this) ~ Mike
If you are doing it as a parody, like The Onion, you would be fine. If you are trying to pass them off as accurate news stories, then you could be committing several violations of law depending on what precisely you wrote. It could be a fraud, if making up facts about a real company or stock. It could be libel if you wrote falsehoods about a person. There is no simple yes or no answer because it depends on what and how you write and more importantly how you present it. One famous made up story dealt with a famous preacher. Someone wrote how he lost his virginity in an outhouse. He sued, the US courts said it was a legal parody and that no reasonable person would think the story, as presented, was accurate. you can read more here
not illegal, unless your using a sob story to monetize something....and even then I'm not sure it's illegal...