Belgian TikToker fakes own death, arrives at funeral via helicopter
Belgian TikTok star David Baerten faked his own death to gain attention from his family, according to a recent report. Baerten then turned up at his own funeral via helicopter, surprising his guests. (Thomas Faut/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
A Belgian TikTok star with over 166,000 followers on the platform faked his own death for attention from his family, according to a recent report.
"Cheers to you all, welcome to my funeral," David Baerten told his assembled guests in a video, according to The Times of London.
The Times quoted Baerten on his reasoning for faking his own death. "What I see in my family often hurts me," the TikToker said.
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A Belgian TikToker reunites with his family at a funeral after faking his own death and arriving in a helicopter. (Thomas Faut/LOCAL NEWS X/TMX)
"I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me. We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated. That’s why I wanted to give them a life lesson, and show them that you shouldn’t wait until someone is dead to meet up with them."
One video of the moment that Baerten made his appearance at his own funeral via helicopter has received over 5,900 likes on TikTok.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Baerten for additional comment.
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A Belgian TikToker faked his death, arriving in a helicopter to his own funeral. (Thomas Faut/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
People also reported that Baerten included his family in on the social experiment.
"Rest in peace Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you," one of his daughters reportedly wrote on TikTok before the service. "Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you."
TikTok is increasingly becoming a source not only for pranks and social experiments like the one that Baerten reportedly sprung on his family, but also for news.
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The next generation is trusting their news-gathering and fact-checking to TikTok and Instagram personalities rather than mainstream media and journalists, according to a report.
A study conducted for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, part of Britain's University of Oxford, found 55% of TikTok users and 52% of Instagram users get their news from "personalities" on the respective platforms.
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Fox News' Lawrence Richards contributed to this report.
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