"Poonam Pandey is known for attention-seeking"
Poonam Pandey caused a lot of outrage when she claimed to be dead to raise awareness for cervical cancer.
On February 2, 2024, there was a huge shock when it was announced that Poonam Pandey had passed away from cancer at 32.
In a statement, her team said on Instagram:
“This morning is a tough one for us.
“Deeply saddened to inform you that we have lost our beloved Poonam to cervical cancer.
“Every living form that ever came in contact with her was met with pure love and kindness.
“In this time of grief, we would request for privacy while we remember her fondly for all that we shared.”
Celebrities and fans expressed their disbelief and paid tribute to Poonam.
However, their grief turned to fury the following day when a very much alive Poonam appeared in a video and revealed the stunt was part of a campaign to raise awareness about cervical cancer.
Fellow celebrities and fans slammed Poonam for using death to increase awareness, labelling her “shameful”.
The incident raises questions about the ethical aspects of such campaigns.
It also highlights the measures some Indian celebrities go to in order to garner attention.
Seeking Attention
One of the biggest issues with Poonam Pandey’s stunt is that it makes it more difficult for the audience to trust her and disregards her credibility.
She inappropriately sensationalised a fake incident to gain media attention and she successfully did so.
This takes away genuine attention from cancer.
Poonam’s stunt is also disrespectful of actual cervical cancer patients.
Although the stunt is heinous, Poonam Pandey has made a career out of outlandish acts to garner attention.
She catapulted into the spotlight in 2011 when she vowed to strip for the Indian cricket team if they won the World Cup.
Despite India triumphing, Poonam did not fulfil her promise due to public disapproval. She later claimed the BCCI denied her permission.
Poonam also stirred up controversy when she uploaded her sextape on Instagram.
Although Poonam deleted the explicit post, many had viewed the video and redistributed it on other social media platforms as well as porn websites.
DESIblitz spoke to a few Indian students to gauge their opinion on Poonam’s fake death.
Meera admitted that while she was shocked, she was unsurprised with the model’s antics.
She said: “I was shocked that she stooped so low but not that surprised because Poonam Pandey is known for attention-seeking and will do what she can to be in the headlines.”
Meanwhile, Aryan highlighted the bigger issue of Indian celebrities staging fake stunts to “dupe” their fans.
He explained: “What Poonam Pandey did was horrible but Indian celebrities doing fake stunts to seek attention is common, Poonam just went to another level.”
Other Instances of Fake Stunts
Poonam Pandey’s fake death was in poor taste, it is not the first time that an Indian celebrity has fooled their fans with publicity stunts.
A few months before her wedding, Kiara Advani revealed her big “secret”.
At the time, fans believed it was Kiara announcing that she would be marrying Sidharth Malhotra.
However, it was nothing more than a brand announcement.
Similarly, Malaika Arora sparked engagement rumours when she shared a post that was captioned:
“I said YES.”
But it turned out to be an announcement for her reality show Moving In With Malaika.
With the amount of things going on in the world, celebrities look to attract public attention and tend to resort to desperate measures.
Artists and PR teams work together to plan the publicity strategy for a project.
Using personal relationships to garner a buzz is an age-old practice in the entertainment industry.
Although it has become the norm, it is still frustrating for fans as Riya said:
“I’m not surprised by some of the things Indian celebrities pull off but it’s not good because you don’t know what to believe.
“Sometimes I understand why they are subjected to social media backlash.”
New Challenges for Journalism & PR
Not only did Poonam Pandey cross the line when promoting an awareness campaign but she also turned the journalism world upside down.
After news of her death being fake came to light, journalists were accused of not checking facts when publishing articles about her supposed death.
One of those was actor Aly Goni, who tweeted:
“F***ing cheap publicity stunt, it was nothing else. You guys think it’s funny?
“You and your PR team should be boycotted I swear… bloody losers and to all the media portals we people here trust you that’s why we believed it… shame on you all.”
But how does a journalist handle such a situation?
The rule is that if the source is credible and is identified, the news can be broken.
In this case, Poonam’s manager said her death was legitimate, making established media outlets run with the story.
Her stunt could be classed as one of wilful disinformation in an attempt to mislead media outlets and the public.
Ananya believes that the incident will only encourage disinformation:
“There is already a lot of fake news happening and Poonam’s shameful act will only encourage it. What is real and what is not?”
“Social media spreads this kind of news quickly, meaning many will believe something that is fake.”
Whilst discussing disinformation, Rohan cited the spate of Bollywood celebrities falling victim to deepfaking.
He said: “We already saw the deepfakes issue, giving the impression that actresses are appearing bold.
“This is similar, initially giving the impression Poonam Pandey had died.
“Fake news comes in different ways and is spreading quickly.”
Poonam Pandey’s death stunt is a heinous thing to do but it has sparked the wider issue of ethics and disinformation.
Digital agency Schbang was responsible for coordinating the stunt and issued an apology:
“Yes, we were involved in the initiative for Poonam Pandey to spread awareness about Cervical Cancer in collaboration with Hauterfly.
“To start off, we would like to extend a heartfelt apology – especially towards those who have been triggered as a result of having faced/having a loved one face the hardships of any kind of cancer.
“Many of you may be unaware but Poonam’s own mother has bravely battled cancer.
“Having been through the challenges of battling a disease like this at such personal quarters, she understands the importance of prevention and the criticality of awareness, especially when a vaccine is available.”
Schbang highlighted that the stunt resulted in a major rise in online searches for cervical cancer-related terms.
The statement continued: “This is the first time in the history of this country that the word ‘Cervical Cancer’ has been on 1000+ Headlines.”
As a result of the incident, Poonam Pandey’s reputation has been tarnished. But it is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ethics and publicity.
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