Baltimore resident Julie Baker raised $43K on GoFundMe to make her yard more gay after posting a letter she says she got from a neighbor complaining about her "relentlessly gay" yard decor. Snopes investigator Kim LaCapria did a little digging and found the story got curiouser and curiouser.
Anti-hoax consumer activists raised suspicions as soon as the fundraiser began, because Baker's own idiosyncratic capitalization and punctuation matched the style of the alleged letter from her neighbor. But when people want to believe something, it can blind them to such evidence. Quoth LaCapria:
On 24 June 2015 we spoke to a detective at Baker's local precinct, to whom we were referred by individuals connected with the Relentlessly Gay campaign. Although Baker had stated the previous day that police were "satisfied" with her claim, the detective to whom we spoke said that Baker was either unwilling or unable to produce the letter in question, and that she had maintained it was no longer in her possession. The detective also indicated that he had attempted to meet with Baker in person the previous day but was unable to do so.
Baker pulled the plug on the fundraiser and says she will not withdraw the money: "On a sadder note, the world is filled with hate and fear, as such I want to work to remove any doubt about the authenticity of the letter. Until then I am not taking a dime out of this account."
Stay tuned.
