Poonam Pandey: Fake cancer death of India actress sparks ethics debate - BBC News

Poonam Pandey's campaign to draw attention to cervical cancer has received mixed reactions.

8 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Poonam Pandey faked her death for a social media campaign about cervical cancerBy Cherylann MollanBBC News, MumbaiA social media post claiming that an Indian actress had died due to cervical cancer and a subsequent video announcing that she was alive has sparked a furious debate on the ethical conundrums surrounding online publicity campaigns.

On Friday, Poonam Pandey's official Instagram account released a statement saying that the 32-year-old actress had "bravely fought the disease" and died.

Many trusted the post; news outlets reported the news of her death within minutes and social media was full of tributes for the actress.

Pandey has acted in a few films but she became an online sensation due to her controversial posts and publicity campaigns. In 2011, the actress promised to strip naked if the Indian cricket team won the World Cup, though she didn't stick to it.

Just a day after her "death", Pandey posted a video saying that she had "faked her demise" and that the Instagram post for her 1.3 million followers was part of a social media campaign to create awareness about cervical cancer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68201524?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

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