'Someone faked my death on TikTok'

Grace Wolstenholme wants people to be more mindful of disinformation on social media

A TikTok creator has urged social media users to be more aware of disinformation after a video claiming she was dead was watched 650,000 times.

Grace Wolstenholme, 22, has gained 1.3 million followers since 2021 for her videos which talk about living with cerebral palsy.

One of her most popular videos was used without her permission by an account appearing to sell pillows, and was captioned: "I lost my autistic sister today so I bought this pillow to imitate cuddling her."

TikTok confirmed the video had been removed for violating its community guidelines. Despite numerous attempts, the BBC has been unable to contact the user who shared the video.

"There's a lot of bad people on social media, so you do need to check the facts," said Ms Wolstenholme, who splits her time between Essex and London.

Her original video, posted in 2021, has been liked 5.2 million times and shows her throwing a punch and falling over in a gym class while working with a personal trainer.

Ms Wolstenholme said she became aware of its reuse in the death hoax, uploaded in May, when someone she knows contacted her mum to pass on their condolences.

The video featured footage of Grace falling over in the gym, which had previously gone viral via her own account

Ms Wolstenholme had been keeping a low profile online because she had been unwell for about three months, which she said made the hoax appear genuine.

"People were commenting saying 'rest in peace, Grace. I love you'. People were severely devastated hearing I was dead."

She said she had lost thousands of followers and seen a drop in views because of people assuming she was dead, which had reduced her income.

TikTok rewards its most popular creators by paying them based on video views and engagements.

Grace Wolstenholme started posting videos on TikTok in 2021 and now has 1.3 million followers

Ms Wolstenholme said she was also frustrated by further disinformation.

"My disability isn't autism, it's cerebral palsy. So he got my disability wrong, and said I was dead," she added.

Ms Wolstenholme said the fake video was taken off TikTok after she contacted someone on Instagram who had the same username.

But it was reposted on TikTok days later and the user sent a series of offensive messages to Ms Wolstenholme.

TikTok removed the video after it was contacted by the BBC, and said it had violated its community guidelines.

It did not comment on Ms Wolstenholme's concerns around the sharing of disinformation on the platform.

'Triggering'

Ms Wolstenholme said her followers were "deeply disgusted" by what had happened.

"It's triggering for my followers to see because some of my followers suffer with their mental health," she said.

A second video appearing to mock Ms Wolstenholme's disability was posted by the same TikTok account.

The TikTok and Instagram accounts and their associated website are no longer active.

The name of the business was not that of any limited company registered at Companies House and the VAT number it displayed was not associated with any UK business.

The BBC called and emailed the shop using contact details found on its website but did not get a response, and unsuccessfully messaged the TikTok account and another profile which appeared to match the person in the videos.

Ms Wolstenholme reported the harassment to the Metropolitan Police, which confirmed it was exploring "several lines of inquiry".

A police spokeswoman said: "The victim continues to be supported by officers. At this stage no arrests have been made."

If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, details of help and support are available at BBC Action Line