Popular model sparks backlash for faking her death to bring awareness to cervical cancer

A popular Indian model and actress has sparked an online backlash after revealing this weekend she had faked her death in an Instagram post as part of a cervical cancer awareness campaign.

Poonam Pandey "bravely fought the disease" and died, according to a statement published on her social media Friday, but the fake announcement was soon met with online criticism that included accusations it was a "deceptive stunt."

A flurry of obituaries from media outlets followed the original announcement and her Wikipedia page was also updated to reflect her apparent death, while Bollywood stars posted mournful tributes.