Belle Gibson really pretended to have cancer. So why is Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar only ‘true-ish’?

Kaitlyn Dever as Belle Gibson in Apple Cider Vinegar, streaming now on Netflix. Photograph: Ben King/AP

Three minutes into its first episode, Apple Cider Vinegar breaks the fourth wall.

“This is a true story based on a lie,” says Kaitlyn Dever, who plays Belle Gibson, to the camera. “Some names have been changed to protect the innocent. Belle Gibson has not been paid for the recreation of her story.”