Online death rumours of influencer Lil Tay dispelled after Instagram hacking incident
A favoured influencer known for flaunting wealth in her content is alive despite widespread online rumours of her death. This misinformation resulted from the Instagram account of Lil Tay being hacked, which also reported false claims of the sudden passing of her 14 years old brother, Jason Tian. However, according to recent US reports, these reports are entirely false.
US entertainment news channel TMZ yesterday reported that the siblings were alive. The source of these inaccurate claims appears to have come from Lil Tay’s Instagram account which had been hacked.
The Instagram post that disseminated the fake news was addressed by Lil Tay herself who confirmed to TMZ that she and her brother are indeed safe. The American-born Canadian social media personality says her only current struggle is to find the right words to explain the upsetting situation they suddenly found themselves in.
“I would like to clarify that both my brother and I are safe and still living. However, we are quite shocked, so we’re trying hard to find the appropriate response. It has been a traumatic 24 hours.
“All day yesterday, I was bombarded with painful and tearful phone calls from loved ones, while I was trying to sort out this mess. My Instagram account had been compromised, spreading false information and rumours about me, even misreporting my name. My legal name is Tay Tian, not Claire Hope.”
Finally, Lil Tay expressed her gratitude to Meta – the parent company of Instagram – for assisting her in regaining her account. Consequently, the deceitful post announcing a “death” was removed.
In 2018, when she was nine years old, Lil Tay became famous online for three months, proclaiming herself to be the “youngest flexer of the century,” reported the Atlantic. Her social media presence on Instagram and rap videos on YouTube attracted millions of views and followers until they were abruptly wiped of content following allegations that she was coached to perform her actions on social media and that she never held control of her public identity.
