A video showing a young boy with dwarfism crying about school bullies went viral on social media, prompting a GoFundMe campaign started by a comedian that has raised nearly $500,000.
Quaden Bayles, a live video of a nine-year-old boy with a form of dwarfism was shared by millions of people on social media when His mother Yarraka Bayles videotaped him crying and mentioning suicide over bullying he faced at school. There was support from celebrities , a GoFundMe that raised nearly $500,000 to send the Australian family to Disneyland in California.
Consipracy theories raised on social media questioning whether Bayles is actually a 9-year-old victim of bullies or a teenage boy who just celebrated his 18th birthday according to his Instagram page.
Rumor 1
Bayles: Teenage is a Model/Actor
Rumors circulated that Quaden was actually a teen actor pretending to be a child. One post circulating on Twitter said his high-profile Instagram page and lucrative modelling career were proof he 'scammed everybody'.
It might come as a surprise to some, but wearing a shirt reading “Gucci” or standing next to an adult woman are not activities exclusively reserved for 18-year-olds.
The above-displayed pictures all come from Quaden’s previously public Instagram account. The photograph of the number 18 was one of several he posted after his friend Garlen’s 18th birthday party. In one photograph, a birthday message for “Garlen,” not “Quaden,” is clearly visible.
A video dated 2015, however, rejects all the conspiracy theories of Bayles being an 18-year-old scam artist. According to the video, Bayles was in the media spotlight due to a previous bullying incident.
In the video, his mom Yarraka, who has been involved in a Dwarfism Awareness not-for-profit organization since 2014, speaks to the media, where she states that her son was just four-year-old.
Quaden was also seen playing with toys when he appeared on television as a four-year-old in 2015.
Rumor 2 :
The 18th birthday party
The accuser also pointed to a photo of Quaden at an 18th birthday party, saying the celebrations were for him.
Yarraka Bayles hit out at the claims as they gathered pace on social media, sharing a post from someone who said they knew Quaden from before his viral video.
'He’s nine! Dwarfism is not a joke, is he a model or actor?' the Facebook post read.
'So are a lot of kids… That doesn’t mean s**t!'
Others have also jumped to Quaden's defence over the birthday post, saying he was actually attending the 18th birthday celebrations of a friend. A photo of Quaden posing with his pals in an Instagram post on January 18, which he captioned 'happy 18th ma bah' appears to support this claim.
Rumor 3
The circulating picture of Bayles drinking wine with his mother
Rumor 4 :
Quaden and his mom urge followers to 'pay my GoFundMe'
The rumours about his age have been accompanied in recent days by trolls creating social media accounts in an attempt to profit from his bullying.
On Saturday, Quaden's Instagram account 'Quadosss' warned his 226,000 followers fake social media accounts claiming to be him and trying to take advantage of his situation were being created.
One of the fake accounts has pictures of Quaden and urges followers to 'pay my GoFundMe' and has a link to donate.
The Only Truth
Quaden and his mother largely disappeared from social media following the conspiracies that spread about the viral incident. Instagram accounts for both Quaden and Yarraka Bayles were deleted as of Saturday. In their place, imposters took over, creating dozens of Instagram and a few Twitter accounts pretending to be the nine-year-old and his mother.
Using Stand Tall 4 Dwarfism, Yarraka Bayles spoke out against the fake accounts, telling her son's supporters that the Stand Tall 4 Dwarfism page was the only social media account that they controlled.