"Actress Reported Dead from Cervical Cancer... Proved 'False' in a Day, Stirring Controversy"

After Announcing Death on SNS, "It's False" in a Day
"Campaign to Raise Awareness of Cervical Cancer Risks"
Heated Debate Erupts Locally

In India, criticism has continued after news was reported that a popular actor had died of cervical cancer, only to reveal a day later that the death was not real and was part of a campaign to promote cervical cancer prevention activities.

Bollywood actor and model Punam Pandey [Photo source= Instagram capture]

On the 5th (local time), foreign media including the BBC reported that Bollywood actor and model Punam Pandey (32) was said to have died fighting cervical cancer on the 2nd, with the post appearing on Instagram, and Indian media immediately cited this to report Pandey's death. The BBC wrote, "The people of India mourned Pandey's death and praised her for bravely fighting against cervical cancer."

However, on the 3rd, a day later, Pandey posted a video on Instagram stating that her death was not true. She explained that her false death post was "part of a social media campaign to raise awareness about cervical cancer in Indian society." She added, "I know it is an extreme measure, but everyone is talking about cervical cancer," and "I am proud that my death news can raise awareness about cervical cancer." Pandey is known to have about 1.3 million Instagram followers.

This has sparked intense debate within Indian society. Some positively evaluated Pandey's post for encouraging people to pay attention to cervical cancer, but many criticized it as an insensitive act that disregards those fighting cancer or who have lost family members to cancer, the BBC reported.

Local netizens speculate that Pandey's 'false death campaign' is a government strategy to promote vaccination. This is because one day before the false death news was posted on Instagram, Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Finance Minister, announced that "measures are being taken to vaccinate girls aged 9 to 14 against cervical cancer."

Shubhang, the social media agency in charge of the cervical cancer vaccination campaign, apologized on the 3rd, saying, "We apologize to anyone who was hurt by this campaign," but added, "Our actions were intended to raise awareness about cervical cancer." However, local criticism continues with questions such as "If the campaign is effective, does that justify unethical behavior?"

Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), India accounts for about one-quarter of the world's cervical cancer deaths, with approximately 77,000 Indian women dying from cervical cancer each year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.