TikToker pranks family, fakes own death to see who cares for him

A man from Belgium has gone viral for faking his own death. He said that he did this to teach his family a "lesson."

David Baerten, known as Ragnar le Fou on TikTok, pranked his friends and family to find out if they really cared about him. His wife and children were on it, too.

To make the fake death believable, his daughter posted a tribute for him on social media.

"Rest in peace Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you," she started. "Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you."

In the viral clips, mourners who attended his funeral were confused and in utter shock upon seeing a helicopter land in a nearby field. Moments later, David disembarks the helicopter alongside a camera crew and his family.

The prank apparently wasn't just meant for content; David did it because he felt "underappreciated" by his family.

@el.tiktokeur2 Tu nous as eu on t aime mon ami on est content que tu es parmis nous ❤️❤️#pourtoii #fyp #fypシ @Ragnar_le_fou ♬ son original - Thomas faut

"What I see in my family often hurts me, I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me," she told The Times.

"We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated. That's why I wanted to give them a life lesson and show them that you shouldn't wait until someone is dead to meet up with them."

He said this act "proved who really cares about [him]" and that those who didn't come reached out to him after.

"So in a way, I did win."