A few weeks ago the Colombians announced that famous French FARC captive Ingrid Betancourt was suffering from hepatitis B and would probably die if she wasn't freed immediately. Since the Colombian government was never able to make that happen, it's been reassuring to learn that Betancourt was never particularly sick to begin with and the Colombians were just spreading stories to whip up anti-FARC sentiment. The crazy part is that they seem to have been feeding rumors to her long-suffering family members to keep the story in the media spotlight.
In early April her poor son was sent forward to tell the world that she needed to have a blood transfusion "in the coming hours," or she'd die. A few days later the apparent source of the information—former hostage Luis Eladio Perez—told reporters he'd never said that she was dying, but that she did seem sick. Then last week her husband told reporters that they weren't sure whether or not she'd ever had hepatitis in the first place. And now today her sister says that there is "no basis" to the hepatitis stories. But hey, Colombia was able to keep the story alive for multiple news cycles and all they had to do was make her distraught family think she was on the verge of death. Stay classy, guys!
