Bachelor Nation was in mourning Monday, as Josh Seiter, a contestant on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s 2015 season of The Bachelorette, was extensively reported to have died.
Shockingly, although, Seiter himself resurfaced on Tuesday to set the report straight: a hacker, not his household, had shared these phrases.
“Hey guys, as you can see, I am alive and well,” mentioned Seiter, who was eradicated within the first week of the present. “My account was hacked. For the last 24 hours, I’ve been trying desperately to get into it. Somebody was playing a cruel joke and mocking my mental illness and the struggles I’ve gone through with depression and suicide attempts. I am sorry for all the pain they caused when they made that post. I just got back into my account.”
How did so many individuals fall for this?
The announcement of 36-year-old Seiter’s “unexpected passing” got here from a strong supply: his verified Instagram account. A press release that was attributed to his household referred to him as an “incredibly bright light in an increasingly dim world.”
“Although our heartache at Joshua’s passing pains us beyond measure, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace. We hope and pray that his spirit can continue to live on in the pictures and words on this page, which we will leave up for the time being,” the assertion learn.
Seiter, who listed his occupation on the present as regulation scholar/unique dancer, has been open about his psychological well being struggles, together with his dedication to and perception in remedy. And the submit included the quantity to a suicide disaster hotline.
Even Shawn Booth, the eventual final man standing on Seiter’s season, appeared to imagine his former castmate had died. According to Extra, somebody from the present was chatting with Booth when information broke that Seiter was truly alive.
“That’s great news, obviously,” Booth mentioned. “Wow, that’s insane, that’s absolutely crazy.”
He added that it was “a relief for everybody.”
Why does this hold occurring?
Celebrity death hoaxes aren’t new to any of us; they have been round for many years, particularly because the creation of the web. Eddie Murphy, Celine Dion, Jim Carrey, Missy Elliott, Reba McEntire and so many different acquainted names have handled them too. Earlier this month, little one rapper Lil Tay and her older brother have been reported to have died by way of an announcement on her verified Instagram web page, just for Tay to resurface a day later and clarify that the account had been hacked.
A faux death story usually hinges on a particular occasion, reminiscent of a falling off a cliff or crashing a automotive, and spreads — shortly — at the least partially as a result of individuals wish to “perform” their grief on social media, based on fact-checking web site Snopes.
In Seiter’s case, he promised in that return to his account that he would hold followers up to date on what he discovered about what had occurred.
“I am going to do all I can with my team to try to identify who is behind this but, again, I apologize for the confusion,” he mentioned.
If you or somebody you already know is experiencing suicidal ideas, name 911, or name the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255 or textual content HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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