TikTok ghouls have been slammed by devastated fans of Liam Payne after posting fake footage claiming to show the One Direction star’s funeral.
Payne, 31, is set to be laid to rest in a ceremony later this week after dying following a fall from a hotel room balcony in Argentina last month.
But sick trolls looking for clicks have been posting TikTok videos of footage from other funerals claiming they are taken from the singer’s memorial.
The videos have been viewed millions of times, but Payne’s fans have quickly called them out as fake.
The posters have been branded ‘disrespectful’ and ‘wrong’, but remain online.
One user wrote: ‘People need to stop this its wrong on so many levels. Saying someone else’s funeral is Liam Payne, so disrespectful, so sad to see what people do for views.’
Funeral footage from previous high-profile services has been used and labelled as Payne’s funeral.
This includes footage which shows Prince William, as well as video from Sir Bobby Charlton’s funeral.
The details of Payne’s funeral are being kept under wraps, but it is believed it will take place in his home town of Wolverhampton at some point this week.
The service is said to be taking place at either St. Peter’s or St Paul’s Church, Pendeford, which is closer to Payne’s childhood home.
His family are said to want a private funeral, but an insider previously told : ‘Liam will have a very big send-off, quite probably at a large cathedral somewhere close to his heart. Liam was so loved by so many people, there will obviously be enormous demand and so the service will necessarily be a huge affair.’
Thousands of One Direction and Payne fans are expected to visit the Midlands city to line the streets on the day.
It is thought that in addition to Payne’s four bandmates, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, dozens of household names will also be in attendance.
His girlfriend at the time of his death, Kate Cassidy, and his ex-partner and former X Factor judge Cheryl are also expected to be there.
It is not known whether Payne’s son, Bear, seven, will be at the service.
After his death, Bear’s mother Cheryl gave a heartbreaking interview saying her son would have to ‘face the reality of never seeing his father again’.
Tributes to the singer including flowers, stuffed toys and cards continue to be laid in the singer’s home town by grieving fans.
A memorial at the Cenotaph was ‘respectfully’ relocated ahead of Remembrance Day.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the City of Wolverhampton Council wrote: ‘Ahead of Sunday and Monday’s Remembrance services at the Cenotaph, the council has respectfully relocated the tributes left in memory of Liam Payne to the bandstand at West Park.
‘People are welcome to leave any tributes to Liam at the memorial at the bandstand.’
It comes after three people were charged in connection with his death, as Argentine authorities ruled out third party involvement in his fall.
Payne died from multiple injuries as well as internal and external bleeding after his body was found in the hotel’s internal courtyard, a post-mortem examination said.
A hotel worker and a drug dealer were revealed as two of the three mystery men arrested earlier this month.
Police in Argentina believe they have uncovered drug dealing at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel where the One Direction star fell to his death from his suite’s third-floor balcony on October 16.
A 21-year-old and a 24-year-old have been named by respected Argentine news website Infobae as two of the three arrested suspects.
They are accused of supplying Mr Payne with drugs while a third suspect is under investigation for abandoning a person who subsequently died.
Prosecutors have made it clear that any idea that Liam had committed suicide had been ruled out and said he was in a state of ‘semi or total unconsciousness’ as he fell to his death when he ‘didn’t know what he was doing.’
After his death Liam’s father Geoff Payne flew out to Buenos Aires where he identified his son and visited a wall of tributes left outside.
His son’s body was repatriated to the UK earlier this month.