Europe 1 with AFP 11:47 a.m., February 3, 2024

Indian model Poonam Pandey admitted to faking her death on Instagram for a communications campaign to raise awareness of cervical cancer. A press release announced that she “courageously fought the disease”. Many Internet users castigated the young woman for this manipulation. 

An Indian model sparked an online storm on Saturday after admitting she faked her death on Instagram, in a PR effort aimed at raising awareness of cervical cancer. Poonam Pandey “courageously fought the disease” and died, a statement announced on Friday on her social networks. Local media outlets published obituaries of the 32-year-old, and her Wikipedia page was updated after her apparent death, while Bollywood stars paid tribute to her.

But some began to doubt the young woman's death, particularly in view of images showing her, apparently in good health, on board a boat in Goa, published four days before. Poonam Pandey later admitted to her 1.3 million followers in another video posted on Instagram that her death was a hoax. "Yes, I faked my disappearance, it's extreme I know. But suddenly we're all talking about cervical cancer, aren't we?" Poonam Pandey wrote. “I am proud of what the announcement of my death was able to accomplish.”

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Internet users distressed 

Many Internet users castigated the young woman for wanting to draw attention to herself at all costs. “Engaging in a deceptive operation, such as faking one's death, under the guise of 'raising awareness' is not only unethical but also manipulative,” said one internet user. “Shame on you (...) next time, no one will take your real death seriously!”, wrote another. The young Indian began her modeling career in 2010 and quickly gained notoriety for her extravagance.

She had promised to strip for the Indian cricket team if they won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, then posted a video where she is seen taking off her clothes at the Wankhede Stadium where the final was played. She has also appeared in Bollywood films, including an erotic thriller in 2013, “Nasha”. 

India accounts for almost a quarter of the world's cervical cancer cases, according to the World Health Organization. NGOs are campaigning for a national vaccination campaign against human papillomavirus (HPV) infections for young girls, which in other countries has significantly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer.