Believe in Magic
{{short description|British defunct charity}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Believe in Magic
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| formation = {{start date and age|2012|01|20|df=y}}
| founder = Megan Bhari
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| defunct = {{end date and age|2020|08|17|df=y}}
| type = Nonprofit
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| status = Charity
| purpose = Provides grants to terminally ill children
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| headquarters = United Kingdom
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| region_served = England and Scotland
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| key_people =
- Megan Bhari
- Jean O'Brien
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Believe in Magic was a British charity founded in 2012 that aimed to relieve the needs of children in the United Kingdom suffering from severe or terminal illnesses. It was founded by 16-year-old Megan Bhari, who claimed to have been diagnosed with a brain tumour three years previously. The charity gained prominence after it was supported by several celebrities, most notably British-Irish boy band One Direction. The charity went under investigation by the Charity Commission for England and Wales in 2017, following concerns of its financial management and administration. The charity fell into controversy after accusations that Bhari lied or downplayed her illness, and was shut down in 2020.
History
File:One Direction Glasgow 2.jpg
Believe in Magic was founded by 16-year-old Megan Bhari, who had been diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension three years previously. The organisation aimed to bring joy to terminally ill children. Her mother, Jean O'Brien, worked with her on the charity.{{cite web |last1=Bartlett |first1=Jamie |last2=Mayer |first2=Ruth |title=Megan Bhari: Her illness fooled celebs. The truth may be even darker |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65428918 |website=BBC News |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127100309/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65428918 |archive-date=27 January 2025 |date=8 May 2023 |url-status=live}} The charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 20 January 2012.{{cite web |title=Charity Inquiry: Believe in Magic |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-believe-in-magic/charity-inquiry-believe-in-magic |website=GOV.UK |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930020908/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-believe-in-magic/charity-inquiry-believe-in-magic |archive-date=30 September 2023 |date=10 September 2020 |url-status=live}} In its first year, the charity received donations of £73,635. In 2013, it received £48,007, and in 2014 it received £32,783.
The charity rose to prominence after being supported by British-Irish boy band One Direction.{{cite web |last1=Dibdin |first1=Emma |title=6 Podcasts About Lies, Scams and Con Artists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/arts/podcasts-scams-con-artists.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219120529/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/arts/podcasts-scams-con-artists.html/ |archive-date=19 December 2023 |date=19 December 2023|url-access=subscription}} The band repeatedly tweeted their support for the charity, wore bracelets onstage during their tours, and attended the charity's events.{{cite news |last1=McCann |first1=Fiona |title=Believe in Magic: a sad, complicated but rewarding tale of deception |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/review/2023/05/27/believe-in-magic-a-sad-complicated-but-rewarding-tale-of-deception/ |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240812135727/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/review/2023/05/27/believe-in-magic-a-sad-complicated-but-rewarding-tale-of-deception/ |archive-date=12 August 2024 |date=27 May 2023 |url-status=live}} The band reportedly donated millions of pounds towards the charity,{{cite web |last1=Watt |first1=Holly |last2=Boseley |first2=Sarah |title=Accounts frozen at charity backed by One Direction |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/06/charity-backed-by-millions-from-one-direction-has-accounts-frozen |website=The Guardian |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102181229/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/06/charity-backed-by-millions-from-one-direction-has-accounts-frozen |archive-date=2 November 2023 |date=6 April 2017 |url-status=live}} with band member Louis Tomlinson donating £2 million.{{cite web |last1=Daly |first1=Rhian |title=Charity backed by One Direction has accounts frozen |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/charity-backed-one-direction-accounts-frozen-2036489 |website=NME |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409090916/https://www.nme.com/news/music/charity-backed-one-direction-accounts-frozen-2036489 |archive-date=9 April 2017 |date=6 April 2017 |url-status=live}} In 2015, Tomlinson hosted the "Believe in Magic Cinderella Ball", a fundraising gala, at the Natural History Museum, London, attended by band member Liam Payne.{{cite web |last1=McBride |first1=Caitlin |title=Louis Tomlinson donates over €2m to children's charity at Cinderella ball with mum Johannah |url=https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/louis-tomlinson-donates-over-2m-to-childrens-charity-at-cinderella-ball-with-mum-johannah/31442370.html |website=The Irish Independent |access-date=9 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126043954/https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/louis-tomlinson-donates-over-2m-to-childrens-charity-at-cinderella-ball-with-mum-johannah/31442370.html |archive-date=26 January 2025 |date=11 August 2015 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Soteriou |first1=Stephanie |title=Louis Tomlinson And Liam Payne Donate Over £5Million At Charity Ball - The Cutest Moments |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/louis-tomlinson-and-liam-payne-donate-over-126414674404.html |website=Yahoo! News |access-date=9 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812235421/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/louis-tomlinson-and-liam-payne-donate-over-126414674404.html |archive-date=12 August 2022 |date=11 August 2015 |url-status=live}} The same year, Bhari received an award from then-Prime Minister David Cameron, who praised her for her courage. The charity received support from several celebrities, including Jessie J, Olly Murs, Pixie Lott, Little Mix, Professor Green, Fearne Cotton, and Michael Bublé.
The group was officially removed from the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 17 August 2020.{{cite web |title=BELIEVE IN MAGIC |url=https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5024192/governance |website=Charity Commission for England and Wales |access-date=9 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250209050314/https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5024192/governance |archive-date=9 February 2025 |url-status=live}}
Controversy
Despite its initial success and widespread acclaim, Believe in Magic became the subject of controversy. In 2015, O'Brien posted a JustGiving appeal on Facebook stating that Megan's condition had deteriorated, and launched a fundraising campaign seeking £120,000 for emergency medical treatment in the United States. The target was reached within 48 hours. A year later, another appeal was made by O'Brien asking for more donations. Jo Ashcroft, the mother of a child diagnosed with neuroblastoma, led a group of parents to privately investigate into the matter following their concerns that the appeal did not mention specific details, such as the hospital or doctor Bhari would be treated by.{{cite web |last1=Hendy |first1=Eloise |title=A One Direction fan claimed she had a brain tumour. Five years after her death, we still need answers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/megan-bhari-one-direction-brain-tumour-b2339819.html |website=The Independent |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528172134/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/megan-bhari-one-direction-brain-tumour-b2339819.html |archive-date=28 May 2024 |date=17 May 2023 |url-status=live}}
Through computer hacking via an email embedded trojan, the group discovered their emails were being opened in a luxury resort at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. A private investigator they hired found no evidence of the pair having oxygen concentrators like they claimed. The group then started a Facebook group called "The Truth About Meg And Jean" where they shared their discoveries. In 2017, the Charity Commission for England and Wales launched a statutory inquiry into the organisation due to concerns about its administration and financial management. The investigation resulted in the charity's accounts being frozen.{{cite web |last1=Halliday |first1=Josh |title=Call for fundraising pages to be regulated amid fraud concerns |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/17/call-for-fundraising-pages-to-be-regulated-amid-concerns |website=The Guardian |access-date=9 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004161103/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/17/call-for-fundraising-pages-to-be-regulated-amid-concerns |archive-date=4 October 2022 |date=17 April 2017 |url-status=live}} The investigation revealed that the trustees failed to comply with their reporting duties, did not cooperate with the inquiry, and mismanaged the charity's funds. In addition, significant sums of money were found to be withdrawn in cash or transferred to personal accounts without adequate records to justify the transactions. Over £100,000 was unaccounted for at the time of the investigations.
On 28 March 2018, Megan Bhari died at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at the age of 23, following which an inquest into her death took place. The inquest revealed that Bhari's brain had been "morphologically normal", and that there was no sign of a tumour. The inquest also found that there had been attempts by Bhari to obtain morphine using a forged prescription, and that she frequently missed medical appointments and changed doctors frequently. Her cause of death was revealed to be acute cardiac arrhythmia, an abnormality of the rhythm of the heart, due to her fatty liver disease. O'Brien would tell the BBC following the discovery that Bhari had pituitary microadenoma, a non-cancerous brain tumour which is not typically life-threatening. A BBC Sounds podcast also entitled Believe in Magic suggested Bhari had been a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a claim supported by academic Marc Feldman. Bhari's half-sister stated that she believed the illness was faked and charity started in order to meet with celebrities, particularly One Direction. In 2022, Kingston Council, where Bhari had been living, published a report concluding that despite no formal diagnosis of Fabricated or Induced illness (FII), the coroner's conclusion led all involved in the case to believe that it was likely a case of FII.
Popular culture
The incident was the subject of a seven-part podcast series named Believe in Magic by Jamie Bartlett on BBC Studios.{{cite web |title=Believe in Magic, a new seven-part podcast series from BBC Studios, unravels the disturbing story behind Megan Bhari's celebrity charity |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/bbcstudios/2023/believe-in-magic-a-new-seven-part-podcast-series-from-bbc-studios-unravels-the-disturbing-story-behind-megan-bharis-celebrity-charity |website=BBC |access-date=8 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506172012/https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/bbcstudios/2023/believe-in-magic-a-new-seven-part-podcast-series-from-bbc-studios-unravels-the-disturbing-story-behind-megan-bharis-celebrity-charity |archive-date=6 May 2023 |url-status=live}}