Kuala Lumpur: Indonesian police have confirmed that the reported disappearance of Malaysian influencer Eyka, who was said to have gone missing after entering a forest in Bandung, Indonesia, was staged for social media content.
According to KumparanNews, authorities revealed that the disappearance was fabricated by influencers Ammar Nazhan Noralyadi and Aras to boost views and followers on social media.
“Ammar and Aras explained that they conducted a livestream on Sunday at Bukit Embah Garut RT 05, RW 09, Kelurahan Cisurupan, Kecamatan Cibiru, Kota Bandung, on TikTok, with the sensational story of ‘Malaysian influencer (Eyka) disappearing for 48 hours after filming paranormal content.’
“The content was purely created to increase views and followers. They were unaware that Indonesian law imposes strict penalties for spreading false news.
“The content they created was not authorised by the authorities, despite approval from the local district manager,” Panyileukan Police Chief Kompol Kurnia was quoted as saying.
Ammar and Aras have since apologised to the police, issuing written statements and a video confession, pledging not to repeat the incident.
Earlier reports had said that Eyka was found safe after being missing for three days in a forest in Bandung.
The 22-year-old’s “discovery”, which purportedly occurred at around 10pm last night, was shared “live” on TikTok @Arasz before going viral.
