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Hoax No. 2: 'Kindness In America' Memoir Writer Shot Himself

We were very tempted earlier this week to post about the guy who said he's writing a memoir called Kindness in America and had gotten shot while hitchhiking across the country. Many sites picked up that oh-so-ironic story.

Then we got distracted. Probably by our shoes.

So it's with some sense of relief that we now pass along word that the sheriff's department in Valley County, Mont., says Ray Dolin made up the whole story about being shot. A man who had been taken into custody based on Dolin's claim has been cleared of wrongdoing.

If you're keeping track, this is our second hoax-related post of the day. These things usual come in threes. So keep an eye out for another one.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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