False Ideas About False Memories

Source: Matthew Baxter, used with permission.

In the recent court case of British former socialite and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, her legal team called in a false memory expert.

False memory syndrome is caused by memories of a traumatic episode, which are objectively false, but in which the person strongly believes. False memories or pseudo-memories are often vivid, detailed, and emotionally charged. The most notorious example of false memory syndrome is the "Satanic Panic" that took place in the United States during the 1980s, in which there were over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse.

False memories usually arise in the context of the discredited practice of recovered memory therapy or other psychotherapies in which therapists can implant false memories. (See the case of Michelle Remembers.) It has also been shown that leading questions and other unproven interviewing techniques can corrupt eyewitness testimony, especially that of children.

In recent years, the concept of false memories has been hijacked.

Elizabeth Loftus is the false memory expert who testified for Maxwell also testified for the defense in more than 300 trials, including those of Ted Bundy, Michael Jackson, Jerry Sandusky, O.J. Simpson, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein.

Her research has shown that memories can be distorted, contaminated, or manipulated, and in some cases, altogether false.

However, incorrect recall typically applies to certain details of an event, but not that an event (or events) actually took place.

In cases of sexual misconduct, false memory research is invoked in testimony to cast doubt on the veracity of memories of sexual abuse.

This research has a focus on how memory can fail but without sufficient emphasis on how it can be reliable. Furthermore, research about the unreliability of memory can just as well apply to the unreliability of the memory of the accused.

This kind of testimony is disproportionately applied to discredit women and children reporting abuse and is used as a tool to discredit survivors of sexual trauma.

When used in cases of sexual misconduct, false memory theory tends to be one-sided and incomplete, although it can mislead jurors. False memory research is often used to defend those with patterns of predatory behavior and appears to be a last-ditch effort when there is no other real defense.

False memory testimony has proven to be unsuccessful in all of the high-profile cases mentioned above. In the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, false memory theory was cited to undercut the accounts of four women who said she groomed them for abuse by pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell was ultimately found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offenses in connection with Epstein.

The misuse of false memory theory only serves to defend and support the perpetrators, and results in further victim-blaming of survivors of sexual trauma.