Racial hoax

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A racial hoax occurs when a person (usually the purported victim) falsely claims that a crime was committed by member of a specific race. The crime may be fictitious, or may be an actual crime.^[1]

The term was popularised by Katheryn Russell-Brown in her book The Color of Crime: Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment and Other Macroaggressions (1998). A racial hoax can be performed by a person of any race, against a person of any race. According to Russell-Brown, racial hoaxes where whites falsely accuse African Americans are most likely to receive media attention and create a more acute social problem due to the criminal black man stereotype.^[1]