An online campaign impersonating the teenager’s mother collected €6,380 on GoFundMe. The page was taken down and donors are to be reimbursed under the platform’s policy.
An unidentified person created a fake GoFundMe fundraiser claiming to support Maël, a student who lost the use of one eye during protests in Tours. Franceinfo reported the case on October 5, citing local outlet ICI Touraine.
The campaign, launched on Sunday and disabled on Monday morning, was written as if by the 16-year-old’s mother and said she was in despair. But the name used by the organizer, Samira Benali, was not the mother’s name, ICI Touraine reported.
The fundraiser collected €6,380 before it was shut down. It was shared widely, including by actor Yvan Le Bolloc’h. GoFundMe’s policy, quoted by Franceinfo, says donations are eligible for a full refund if a problem arises.