A Man Fakes Cancer for the Sake of Fame
The Claim
Mohamed Kumsan, an Egyptian fights cancer and gains many followers on his social media platforms.
News posted on
Emerging story
Pictures of an Egyptian young man, Muhammad Kumsan, a cancer patient have been circulating online in the MENA region. Kumsan posted his pictures on a page he created on Facebook with at least 70 thousand people.
A picture circulating showing Muhammad in a white shirt with his picture that says,"Muhammad Kumsan is stronger than cancer" in 2019, encouraging others to resist cancer. Kumsan received a number of certificates of appreciation and appeared on television interviews sharing his story of fighting cancer.
On August 23, he announced that he had decided not to complete the treatment due to his body’s intolerance and that he decided to live the rest of his life enjoying it without treatment and that he was ready to die.
But some of his followers discovered that this post was taken from another cancer patient, and they questioned his illness and demanded him to prove it, and controversy began on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found the circulating claim false. We found that he claimed that he contracted the disease "for the sake of fame," according to Egyptian Media.
Muhammad was arrested and confessed that he was not a cancer patient and had shaved his hair to claim he was a patient with the aim of fame.
خطأ ساذج يكشف حقيقة مصري ادعى الإصابة بالسرطان لحصد الشهرة والاحتيال على المتبرعين#إرم_نيوز #مصر #محمد_قمصان pic.twitter.com/SyJNwJctRD
— إرم نيوز (@EremNews) January 15, 2021
The Public Prosecution charged him for spreading false news on social media pages.
There is a disease here, but it’s not cancer.#محمد_قمصانhttps://t.co/thExuZiQCS
— @Identitymageg (@Identitymageg) January 14, 2021