An Indian model sparked a wave of criticism on the Internet on Saturday, after she admitted that she had fabricated the news of her death on Instagram as part of a campaign aimed at raising awareness of cervical cancer.
Poonam Pandey’s social media pages wrote on Friday that the model died after “bravely fighting the disease.”
Local media published news of the death of the 32-year-old model, and her page on the Wikipedia electronic encyclopedia was updated following the news of her alleged death, while Bollywood stars wrote letters praising her.
But some questioned the news of the young woman’s death, especially in light of photos published four days ago in which Pandey appeared in good health, on a boat in the Indian state of Goa.
Poonam Pandey later admitted to her 1.3 million followers in another video posted on Instagram that her death was a hoax.
She wrote, “Yes, I fabricated the news of my death. I know I went too far with that. But suddenly we are all talking about cervical cancer, right?”, adding: “I am proud of what my death announcement was able to achieve.”
Many social media users criticized the young model, accusing her of seeking to draw attention to herself at any cost.
“Engaging in deception, such as faking a death, under the guise of raising awareness, is not only unethical, but also falls within the context of manipulation,” one netizen wrote.
Another user wrote: “Shame on you next time no one will take your real death seriously!”
The young Indian woman began her modeling career in 2010, and quickly gained fame due to her bold style in the eyes of some.
She had promised to strip for the Indian cricket team if it won the World Cup for this sport in 2011, and then published a video clip in which she was seen taking off her clothes at Wankhede Stadium, where the final match was held. She also appeared in Bollywood films, including the thriller “Nasha” in 2013.
India accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s cervical cancer cases, according to the World Health Organization.
Non-governmental organizations are calling for the establishment of a national vaccination campaign against human papillomavirus infection for young girls, after similar campaigns in other countries succeeded in achieving a significant reduction in cervical cancer rates.
