The clip of nine-year-old Quaden Bayles showed him crying and repeatedly saying he wanted to die after being bullied at school, sparking an outpouring of support from around the world.
The video was watched millions of times and prompted US comedian Brad Williams to start a GoFundMe page that eventually raised almost US$475,000.
Although the funds were meant to send Bayles and his mum to Disneyland, his aunt told Australia’s NITV News that the money would be used for charities instead.
“What kid wouldn’t want to go to Disneyland, especially if you have lived Quaden’s life. To escape to anywhere that is fun that doesn’t remind him of his day to day challenges,” she was quoted as saying.
“But my sister said ‘you know what, let’s get back to the real issue’. This little fella has been bullied. How many suicides, black or white, in our society have happened due to bullying.”
“We want the money to go to community organisations that really need it. They know what the money should be spent on, So as much as we want to go to Disneyland, I think our community would far off benefit from that.”
Australian actor Hugh Jackman and NBA player Enes Kanter were among the hundreds of thousands posting support for Bayles.
Multiple posts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube claimed a nine-year-old Australian boy with dwarfism, Quaden Bayles, was actually an adult. The misleading posts were published shortly after a viral video of Bayles was shared by his mother in which he described being bullied due to his genetic condition. But AFP found previous media interviews with Bayles and his family and their digital footprints over the past decade were consistent with him being nine years old.
Conspiracy theorists used a photo of Bayles next to a sign saying ’18' to suggest he is actually 18, despite the photo having been taken at his cousin’s birthday party.
The family has since announced they have turned out the GoFundMe to go to Disneyland and will instead donate the money to two charities, Dwarfism Awareness Australia, and the Balunu Healing Foundation. The family said they were touched by the gesture but wanted to focus on the real issue..
