Fact Check: Is Marlene Benitez dead? TikTok Death claim explored amid online Veteran's Day petition drama 

Claims of TikToker Marlene Benitez passing away have spread rapidly on the video-sharing platform. This comes after her account got deleted after she seemingly slammed Veterans Day. Despite rumors of her death taking the social networking site by storm, it is worth noting that she has not died in reality. The influencer is very much alive.

According to HITC, rumors of Marlene Benitez passing away spread like wildfire after phrases like “Marlene Benitez dead” and “Marlene Benitez murio” automatically appeared on TikTok. The publication also revealed that a TikTok user created a video where they showed footage of what appears to be a car crash and a picture of Benitez. A voiceover in the video said:

“Those were the last moments of Marlene’s life.”

The clip was quick to go viral and amass over six million views with nearly 100,000 likes. The comment section was reportedly filled with tributary messages. The pop-culture website also shared that a TikTok video revealed that a funeral would be held in Washington.

Despite claims of the internet personality dying spreading rapidly, they are not true.

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Marlene Benitez's drama explained as the influencer confirms that she is alive

The Venezuelan social media star took to her official Instagram account @marlener3131 to confirm that she was very much alive. She incessantly encouraged fans to help her get her TikTok account recovered after it had gotten deleted.

She also uploaded a boomerang video of herself on Instagram. Benitez also told on the social networking site, where she had amassed over two million followers that she was traveling.

Hence, it is safe to say that the death claims are false. It appears as if many were convinced that she had died due to her TikTok account deleted.

Marlene Benitez is not the only celebrity to become a victim of a death hoax. A-list celebrities like Justin Bieber, DJ Khaled, and Will Smith amongst others have also dealt with their fair share of false speculations.

Rumors of Benitez’s passing come right after she garnered backlash for slamming Veterans Day. According to the 'Delete Marlene Benitez social media accounts' Change Org petition, the TikToker said in a video:

“Who the F invented Veterans Day? What does an old man day have to do with our kids? I want to ask president Biden to reconsider this day that we have nothing to do with.”

After her opinions went viral, a petition was created on November 13, to have her TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X deleted. The aforementioned appeal read:

“Many young people look up to this woman, and she’s just giving a bad example for our young generation. One of her closest friend said she has committed EBT and money benefits fraud. We respect and honor our veterans, please sign the petition.”

In the midst of the petition gaining signatures, her TikTok account was deleted. It appears as if many had reported her page. However, the account was back on the website at the time of writing this article.

According to Info Bae, Benitez had also taken to social media to apologize for her statement. She said:

“I do want to apologize to all those people who have veteran relatives who served in the war, who served this country. I never did it with that intention, and the people who know me know that I didn’t do it with that intention. I’m too stupid to talk and I’m too stupid to express myself if I am ignorant for not knowing what Veterans Day is even though I live in this country.”

The petition against her is still up on the Change Org website at the time of writing this article. It had amassed 388 signatures and counting.