Revealed: Deaf paraplegic blogger who won the hearts of thousands before he 'died' of pneumonia is exposed as a fraud

'David Rose' won legions of fans thanks to witty Facebook posts but his sister announced last week that he had died of pneumonia

Suspicious blogger found 'David' had stolen pictures of another paraplegic

No death certificate and family members refused to meet fans

Unidentified blogger admitted to the ruse and said he was 'just a guy with a twisted psyche' but insisted it had helped people



A deaf quadriplegic blogger who won the hearts of thousands with touching internet posts before his sister announced he had died from pneumonia has been exposed as a fraud.

'David Rose', a 24-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer, garnered legions of fans with his witty tweets and Facebook posts, which he said he typed using a Tobii computer that tracked his eye movement using infrared light.

After his story gained national coverage, Rose's sister 'Nichole' revealed online on October 11 that he had passed away, leading to an outpouring of grief and sympathy from across the internet.

But now a fellow blogger, who carried out web investigations after becoming suspicious of Rose, has exposed him as a fake, revealing just how he spun an intricate web of lies that fooled so many.

Lies: A deaf paraplegic blogger named David Rose has been revealed as a fake after a fellow blogger grew suspicious of his claims. 'Rose' had used this picture on social networking sites

Ruse: The picture is actually of a man named Hunter Dunn and has appeared in news reports, pictured

After learning of Rose's death and his 'last blog post', published by his sister on Friday, blogger Kristi-Anne began to question the story.

Writing a post exposing the fraud, she asked how a paraplegic who could only type four words a minute could keep in such swift and consistent contact with followers online.

She also wondered how life must be for someone who was deaf and unable to sign as a result of his cerebral palsy - yet also noted how he described his friends and relationships with such detail.

She then found that the photo Rose had been using was actually of Hunter Dunn, another young man with cerebral palsy, whose picture appears on the Tobii site.

Kristi-Anne was unable to discover Dunn's Facebook page, and noted that it was he who deserved the real praise for being an inspiration man, rather than the fake 'Rose'.

She added that most of Rose's tweets had been sent using TweetDeck, a social media dashboard where users can view multiple messages at once and send their own.

False: 'Rose' had also uploaded this photo of him using his Tobii computer to type messages with his eyes

Revealed: But the blogger also found that picture was of Hunter Dunn from the computer's website

After sending her findings to theCHIVE , who had followed Rose's 'inspirational' story, they agreed it made no sense that Rose could be using this technology.

'Somebody using a Tobii ocular reader would never use TweetDeck,' wrote reporter John Resig. 'But somebody posing as Dave could easily use the Deck.'



'No celebrity or fame was intended in this ruse. I'm just a guy with a twisted psyche who realizes he's caused a lot of damage' 'David Rose' blogger



Resig added on his own post that one of his friends, who had been in close contact with Rose, flew to Los Angeles to attend his funeral after learning about his death.

But Nichole Rose made her excuses and refused to meet the friend. TheCHIVE also discovered there was no death certificate for Rose.

After Kristi-Anne published her blog post, a blogger immediately commented on it, admitting that they had carried out the hoax - and lauding its positive effects.

Yet, while identifying themselves as Nichole, the blogger added that that person was also a character - and her pictures were of an actress from a music video.



'No celebrity or fame was intended in this ruse; it all came quite fast and was a total surprise,' they wrote. 'Up until recently he only had a handful of online friends. The quick and furious fame is actually what brought about the end of it all.

New persona: He wrote a blog, tweeted and posted Facebook messages, gathering thousands of fans. He spoke a lot about his sister 'Nichole' - who he now admits is also made up

'In hindsight it probably would have been better just to shut it all down and have everyone wonder what the hell happened, but the final post was meant to have the effect it did.

'To inspire people to love and live a better life, and the public knowledge that it came under this false pretense takes it all away. I hope that people who were moved by it still live by it, but it seems unlikely. It's possible that more damage has been done in your reveal than in the original deception.'

He added that he was ' just a guy with a twisted psyche who realizes he's caused a lot of damage' but that he would not reveal his identity as he didn't want to ruin his life.

TheCHIVE added: ' We've all been victimized by this disturbed individual.

'It never dawned on us that somebody with such an established internet footprint would actually be mascarading as a deaf, physically handicap person. It would seem absurd to believe somebody would go so far as to fake a death.'

Cheated: 'David' regularly posted tweets - both inspiring and witty - that fooled his readers

The revelations come after the fraud, who claimed 'David' lived in a residential home for disabled people in Orange County, California, posted a 'last blog post' on Friday.

'You are all special. all of you unique!' it read. 'Love each other and make each other smile. a good joke is good medicine! make sure everyone around you have a smile ok?

'Always do what is right. always! but forgive yourself if you forget sometimes. i have to go now. i love you all. i really do. you are amazing. i will never forget you!"

Maintaining the ruse of deafness, he added: 'First of all want to ask if there is sound in heaven. i guess there is but not sure if i want it!



Fans: Twitter users sent kind messages to 'Dave' as they were deceived into thinking he was real



Reality: The blogger, who has not been identified, stole the pictures of a man named Hunter Dunn (front)

'Here on earth i been happy to be deaf and nobody seem to be very good at describe what is sound, so i have not miss it. but i guess if that part of the deal then i have to take what i get!'

Upon learning of David's death saddened followers of his social media postings wrote heartfelt tributes to him.

'Goodnight Dave and thank you so much for just being you brother,' commented on Twitter user under the handle @AlbusQ.

'In honor of David Rose, Am going to follow his advice and reach out to someone I haven't in awhile,' wrote @juanmagdaraog.