The False Memory Syndrome Foundation (1992-2019)
nodeMedia & Managed Opposition
The organisation that fought recovered-memory claims was founded by people who had been accused.
Who they are
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation, founded March 1992, dissolved 31 December 2019.
What they do
By its own description it was formed by 'a group of families and professionals' who came together over 'the trauma of being falsely accused of incest'.
How it works
It was an advocacy organisation, not a research body, and it said so — one of its own newsletters records that 'With the help of Harold Lief and Martin Orne, the FMSF quickly gathered a respectable appearing advisory board, giving the new syndrome an aura of scientific acceptance'. Its published advisory lists across 21 years include Martin Orne, Elizabeth Loftus, Richard Ofshe, Paul McHugh and Margaret Singer.
Why it matters
Worth knowing in both directions: the foundation's own history page never mentions the Freyd family, whose daughter's allegation is usually given as the reason it was founded — that account comes from its opponents. And its opponents are interested parties too. Everyone in this argument has a side.
The engine's record — word for word
[Report #193] Founded March 1992, incorporated in Pennsylvania, EIN 23-2679859. Its own stated mission: 'To seek the reasons for the spread of FMS that is so devastating for families, To work for ways to prevent it, To aid those who were affected by it and to bring their families into reconciliation.' Dissolved 31 December 2019; its own final statement: 'After 27 years, the FMS Foundation dissolved on December 31, 2019... The need for the FMS Foundation diminished dramatically over the years.' The last IRS filing is a Form 990-EZ for tax period February 2020.
IT WAS AN ADVOCACY ORGANISATION, NOT A RESEARCH BODY. By its own account it was formed by 'a group of families and professionals' who came together over 'the trauma of being falsely accused of incest'. Its founding constituency was people accused of child sexual abuse. An FMSF self-description preserved in the critical literature: 'With the help of Harold Lief and Martin Orne, the FMSF quickly gathered a respectable appearing advisory board, giving the new syndrome an aura of scientific acceptance' (P. Freyd, FMSF Newsletter, June 1998).
ADVISORY BOARD, documented from five FMSF-published rosters (March 1993, September 1998, 2000, 2013, December 2013). Present on all five: Martin T. Orne, Michael A. Persinger, Elizabeth Loftus, Richard Ofshe, Harold Lief, Paul McHugh, David Dinges, Margaret Singer, Hollida Wakefield. Louis Jolyon West appears on the March 1993 roster only. Ralph Underwager appears on NO FMSF-published roster located — noting that the newsletter archive begins March 1994, after the 1993 controversy, which is a coverage gap rather than a disproof.
A NULL WORTH RECORDING: FMSF's own Early History page never names Peter or Pamela Freyd and never mentions Jennifer Freyd. It attributes the origin to a newspaper column of November 1991 and to Harold Lief. The Freyd founding narrative is documented by FMSF's critics, who are themselves interested parties — as are the Leadership Council, ISSTD and the Recovered Memory Archive on one side, and FMSF on the other.
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