Blair Mastbaum

{{short description|American writer and a former model (born 1979)}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Blair Mastbaum

| image = BlairPortraitNYBus.jpg

| alt = Mastbaum standing in a train car

| caption = Blair Mastbaum

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1979|1|24}}

| birth_place = Dayton, Ohio, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = {{flatlist|

• Novelist
• screenwriter
• short-story writer

}}

| period = 2003–present

| notableworks = Clay's Way (2004)
Us Ones In Between (2008)

}}

Blair Mastbaum (born January 24, 1979) is an American writer and former model. Mastbaum fabricated a series of stories published by Atlas Obscura.{{cite web |last1=Cyca |first1=Michelle |title=Around the World in Eighty Lies |url=https://thewalrus.ca/around-the-world-in-eighty-lies/ |website=thewalrus.ca |publisher=The Walrus |access-date=29 January 2024}}

The articles were retracted after investigations found plagiarism, fabricated quotes and interviews, and misinformation.See the editor's notes on a few of the fabricated articles:

• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=The ‘Perpetual Broths’ That Simmer for Decades (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/perpetual-broth |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=In Algeria, Ancient Cave Art May Show Psychedelic Mushroom Use (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/psychedelic-mushroom-algeria |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=Why Isn’t the Most British of Masks in the Most British of Museums? (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/guy-fawkes-mask-british-museum |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=Did Ancient Humans Use Echolocation? (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/human-echolocation |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=Some Residents in This Scottish Dark Sky Town Decided to Go Even Darker (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/dark-sky-moffat-scotland |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=How the Discovery of a Unique Sign Language Reconnected a Linguist With Her Past (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/algerian-jewish-sign-language-unpublished |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=Is ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ Really the Thing to Say on a Bright Hawaiian Christmas Day? (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/mele-kalikimaka-meaning |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=The Heraldic Rebus, Born in Battle and Embraced by Tudor England, Lives on in Your Smartphone (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/heraldic-rebus-puzzle |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}
• {{cite web |last1=Mastbaum |first1=Blair |title=Welcome to the Spanish Village Saved by Art—And Nearly Destroyed by Fire (Updated) |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/genalguacil-art-spain |website=atlasobscura.com |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=29 January 2024}}