LETTER FROM NEW DELHI
The prank only lasted twenty-four hours, but it raised many questions and provoked heated controversy. On February 2, a press release released by her agents on her Instagram account announced that Poonam Pandey, a second-rate Indian model and actress, 32, had succumbed to cervical cancer. Indian media, often unscrupulous, and social networks widely relayed the information, publishing obituaries and eulogies. And Poonam Pandey’s Wikipedia page has been updated.
Its communications team had specified to India Today that her cancer had been detected some time earlier at an advanced stage and that her funeral would take place in Uttar Pradesh, where she is from. Some skeptics, however, noted that images of the young woman on board a boat in Goa, apparently in good shape, had been posted on her account four days before the announcement!
The next day, February 3, amid the tumult, Poonam Pandey confessed in a video posted on Instagram – where she has 1.3 million subscribers – that she was in perfect health and had acted as part of a cervical cancer awareness campaign. ” I am alive. I did not die of cervical cancer. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the hundreds of thousands of women who have lost their lives to this cancer. »
Known for her provocations
This video of the model immediately triggered a storm of criticism about the process used, the usefulness of her gesture and her desire to draw attention to herself. Because Poonam Pandey is known for her provocations and her exhibitions. In 2011, notably, during the Cricket World Cup, she declared that she would strip if India won the tournament. And, in 2019, Facebook banned his account for inappropriate posts on the platform.
The All Indian Cine Workers Association has signaled its desire for an investigation to be initiated against the model for hurting the sentiments of Indians. “It is necessary to take strict measures so that such fake news is no longer spread by anyone”demanded the organization of cinema workers, adding that “using cervical cancer for self-promotion is not acceptable.”
Poonam Pandey’s hoax may encourage women to get tested because, since its announcement, thousands of pages have been viewed online about this disease. But does the end justify the means? Falsifying the truth, deceiving people to attract attention, playing on emotions in the battle against “fake news”, seems an unlaudable method, even for a good cause. Especially in India where social networks pollute the quest for reliable information.
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