A London-based fitness influencer just had a very strange experience. She opened up her Facebook only to find that she had been declared dead by a stranger. Hev Steel (hevofsteel) stumbled upon a fake tribute. She was so amused and confused by the situation that she took to TikTok and Instagram to share the story. Steel’s story then went viral, gaining her over 447 views.
As Steel explained in her viral video, “So apparently I died last Tuesday, which was inconvenient because nobody told me.” As she laid out her perspective of the situation, she shared a screenshot of the post and claimed. “I found out because of some woman on Facebook had posted a picture of me with the caption, rest in peace. Beautiful soul. Gone too soon. Excuse me, I’m in Tesco.” Confused, Steel clicked on the poster’s profile only to find a detailed tribute.
According to Steel, the post claimed they had attended school together and that Steel had helped the woman through the darkest period of her life. Steel wryly told her audience, “I never met her, and apparently my final words to her were ‘never stop chasing the light’, girl. I don’t even talk like that.”
A community she didn’t know mourning her
The strangest part, per Steel, was watching others comment on the post. She alleged they wrote things like, “oh my god, I can’t believe she’s gone,” and “she was such a beautiful person.” One commenter even claimed to have spoken to Steel just the day before, to which Steel replied, “Hey, no you f—ing didn’t.” We should note that we can’t verify Steel’s story and only have her videos and screenshots to work with.
The absurdity reached a new level when her cousin allegedly messaged her asking if she was dead. Her cousin even joked, asking Steel to check her pulse. After Steel confirmed she was indeed alive, she decided to set the record straight in the comments section of the tribute post. She wrote, “Hi guys, small update. I’m unfortunately still alive.” Unfortunately, an Arizona baby faced this in real life when they were declared dead but found to be alive in the mortuary.
Steel alleged that to her surprise, the woman deleted the comment. She claimed, “That’s when I realised she wasn’t mourning me. She was committed to the storyline. And honestly, I respected it because imagine having so much audacity. You tell somebody they’re dead. And when they disagree, you block them anyway.” Then Steel jokes, “Apparently, my funeral is Saturday. I might go just to see who turns up.”
The reactions online were a hilarious mix of jokes and shock. One Instagram user suggested, “She deleted and blocked you cause she thought you were a ghost and haunting her.” Another joked, “The bodyguard at the funeral: ‘sorry, you’re not on the list of invitees’.”
Others expressed concern about the potential for scams. One TikToker cautioned, “These are the types of people to set up fraudulent gofundme’s for your ‘funeral costs’ or to ‘support your family’ – I’d keep an eye out.” In a different case, a woman was recently found guilty for scamming her friends and family with claims of being a cancer patient.
A few days later, Steel provided a follow-up. She revealed that she had finally spoken to the woman, whose name is Marjorie. It turns out that Marjorie is 65 and, as Steel put it, “absolutely f—ing useless with Facebook.” Marjorie had been trying to find someone else named Heaven and simply typed “H E V” into the search bar.
When Facebook suggested Steel’s profile, Marjorie assumed it was the correct person and made the post. When Steel asked why her comment was deleted, Marjorie allegedly replied, “ooh, that was you?” Steel claimed that Marjorie “thought somebody had hacked Heaven’s Facebook and was commenting on her memorial post.”
This incident highlights just how important it is to manage your digital footprint, especially in the case of a real death. According to Phelps LaClair, an estate planning firm, your Facebook page will stay active indefinitely unless you take action to memorialize or delete it.
They noted that if you do not want your account left vulnerable to hackers or misinformation, it is vital to include instructions for your digital assets in your estate plan. You can choose to appoint a legacy contact to manage your page or request that it be permanently deleted after your death.
As for Steel, she has decided to move on from the experience. While Marjorie did apologize, she also suggested that Steel should use her full name on Facebook to avoid future confusion. Steel noted that she wasn’t going to argue, jokingly adding, “I already died once in this lifetime.”
Published: Aug 28, 2026 12:55 pm