A woman has spoken out through the BBC after someone falsely announced her death on social media. Grace Wolstenholme, a 22-year-old TikTok creator known for sharing her experiences living with cerebral palsy, was shocked to discover that a social media account had claimed she had died.
Grace, who has over a million followers and has been active on TikTok since 2021, uses her platform to raise awareness about living with cerebral palsy. But recently, her online presence took a disturbing turn. According to the BBC, a popular video of hers was misused by an account that appeared to be selling pillows. The clip was posted alongside a false caption: “I lost my autistic sister today so I bought this pillow to imitate cuddling her”—implying that Grace had passed away.
The video in question, originally shared in 2021, had garnered 5.2 million likes and featured Grace training at the gym, playfully punching and then falling down.
Grace Speaks Out
The hoax had a significant impact. Grace only learned about the situation after someone reached out to her mother to offer their condolences.
“People were leaving comments like ‘Rest in peace, Grace. I love you,’” she told the BBC. “Many people were genuinely heartbroken thinking I had died. There are a lot of harmful individuals online, so it’s important to verify information.”
Grace noted that she had been ill for three months, which may have made the fake news seem more believable. As a result, she lost thousands of followers—leading to a drop in income, since earnings on TikTok are often based on video views and engagement.
She also pointed out that the user falsely identified her disability: “I don’t have autism; I have cerebral palsy. He got that wrong too, and then claimed I was dead.”
Grace was eventually able to have the video removed by contacting an Instagram account with the same username. Despite this, the user responded with a series of abusive messages and reposted the clip on TikTok. The BBC later contacted TikTok, which removed the video for violating its community guidelines, though the company did not directly respond to Grace’s concerns about misinformation on the platform.
Community Reaction
Many of Grace’s followers were outraged. “My followers were deeply disturbed. Some of them already struggle with their mental health, so seeing that kind of post is very upsetting,” she said.
Grace has reported the harassment to the Metropolitan Police. A police spokesperson confirmed that officers are continuing to support her, and while no arrests have been made, the case remains open.