Vile trolls have created fake social media accounts in an attempt to profit from the bullying of a nine-year-old boy with dwarfism.
An emotional video of Brisbane boy Quaden Bayles, taken by his mother Yarraka, showing him breaking down in tears after being targeted by bullies went viral, and has seen him inundated with support from celebrities, sports stars and the general public.
A fundraiser started by comedian Brad Williams to send Quaden to Disneyland has raised more than $400,000, and celebrities including actor Hugh Jackman, broadcaster Piers Morgan and rugby league star Johnathan Thurston have shared encouraging messages.
On Saturday, Quaden’s Instagram account ‘Quadosss’ warned his 226,000 followers that fake social media accounts claiming to be him and trying to take advantage of his situation were being created.
‘WARNING!!!! FAKE ACCOUNTS! PLEASE REPORT ASAP!’ Quaden’s account posted to Instagram, along with a screenshot of a fake Twitter account using his name.
The account also retweeted false posts that claimed Quaden was actually an 18-year-old man, and not a nine-year-old primary school student.
Quaden Bayles’ Instagram account ‘Quadosss’ warned his 226,000 followers that fake accounts were being created in a post on Saturday morning
On Saturday, Quaden’s Instagram account ‘Quadosss’ warned his 226,000 followers that fake social media accounts (left) claiming to be him and trying to take advantage of his situation were being created
The offending Twitter account has pictures of Quaden and urges followers to ‘pay my GoFundMe’ and has a link to donate.
Social media users have been debating whether Quaden is a child since his story broke on Thursday.
One woman posted a photo of Quaden at an 18th birthday party, claiming he was actually an adult.
However, it has since been confirmed that the party was for another person and Quaden was just attending.
Quaden’s mother Yarraka Bayles has a photo on her Facebook profile that shows him as a baby in 2012, also refuting the claim that he is an adult.
‘Lil man going on 15 months now bless him!’ Ms Bayles wrote at the time.
Another rumour circulating is that Quaden was actually acting in the video where he says he wants to kill himself after his StarNow profile was revealed.
The account also retweeted false posts (pictured) that claimed Quaden was actually an 18-year-old man, and not a nine-year-old primary school student
Quaden’s mother Yarraka Bayles has a photo on her Facebook profile that shows him as a baby in 2012, also refuting the claim that he is an adult. ‘Lil man going on 15 months now bless him!’ Ms Bayles wrote at the time
While trolls continue to spread rumours, Quaden has received an outpouring of international support, including from Hugh Jackman and comedian Brad Williams.
Williams, who also has dwarfism, created a fundraiser for Quaden after hearing the upsetting news that he was bullied at school.
The fundraiser has now garnered $401,125 from 17,960 supporters since the American comedian started the GoFundMe page on Thursday.
Money raised will be used to bring Quaden and his mother for a holiday in Disneyland California, while all the excess will be given to anti-bullying charities.
While trolls continue to spread rumours, Quaden (pictured) has received an outpouring of international support, including from Hugh Jackman and comedian Brad Williams
The fundraiser has now garnered $401,125 from 17,960 supporters since the American comedian started the GoFundMe page on Thursday
Quaden’s mother Yarraka shared the distressing video which sparked the outpouring of support after picking her son up from school on Wednesday.
The schoolboy, who has achondroplasia – the most common type of dwarfism – told his mother: ‘Give me a rope, I want to kill myself.’
In the video, which has been viewed more than three million times, Quaden also said: ‘I just want to stab myself in the heart… I want someone to kill me.’
Quaden also scratched at his neck and said: ‘I want to die… I want to scratch myself.’
Now, he will also lead the Indigenous All-Stars out onto the field in their rugby league clash with the Maori All Stars in Queensland on Saturday.
Quaden is pictured with NRL star Latrell Mitchell. The nine-year-old will lead the Indigenous All Stars NRL team onto the pitch on Saturday