An influencer, who faked his friend’s disappearance for two days, has caused outrage.
Ammar Nazhan, who has almost two million followers on TikTok, claimed that fellow content creator, Eyka, had gone missing in a forest.
The 28-year-old shared staged search efforts for her on his social media page.
Some of his videos racked up millions of views.
He eventually claimed that Eyka had been found two days after going missing.
He shared a video of the moment she was pulled from the forest.
But social media users began to get suspicious.
In the clip, which attracted three million views, Eyka’s clothes were noticeably clean and she had bright white trainers on her feet.
The influencers’ followers quickly accused them of faking the entire thing.
Ammar initially denied lying but after calls were made to authorities, investigations led by Indonesian police confirmed that the disappearance was a hoax.
Kompol Kurnia, the Panyileukan district police chief, told the local press that the content was made “purely to increase viewership and followers”.
He added that both Ammar and Eyka did not realise that the Indonesian law provides heavy penalties to those who spread false news.
Ammar is said to have issued a written and video apology to the police, as reported by Need To Know.
The hoax began when Ammar shared with his followers that he and Eyka were trying to film paranormal content in a forest in Bandung, Indonesia, when she went missing.
The Malaysian influencer even shared a video which involved local authorities, as he claimed that they were helping to look for Eyka.
“We are still looking for Eyka from morning till now,” he wrote in a TikTok video.
“Help is on the way.
“The authorities will try their best to help us.
“Our prayers are for the people of Malaysia and Indonesia.”
Two days later, on 5 February, Eyka was ‘found’, with Ammar documenting the whole ordeal.
In the clip, people can be seen standing around with torches.
A young woman appears to walk Eyka, who is dressed in jeans and a jacket, out of the forest.
Eyka has since apologised on her TikTok account, where she has 298,000 followers.
“I would like to apologise for everything that happened,” she wrote.
“I have received a lot of insults towards me.
“I sincerely ask from the bottom of my heart not to disturb or insult my family because they have done nothing wrong.”
It is not known whether Ammar or Eyka will face legal consequences as a result of their hoax.
But their former fans are not impressed.
Maulia wrote: “Please deport as soon as possible.”
Cikgu added: “If it is proven to be just content. May the authorities take action.”
“She’s lost. He’s looking for. She’s found. He’s viral,” said a third user.
Someone else commented: “I’m done, don’t play around anymore.”
“Just arrest them and take them to the lockup, it’s easy,” penned another.
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