The video by ‘French tourist’ Natalie Amyot, in which she appeals for help in finding the father of her unborn baby, has been exposed as a hoax.
In the original clip posted to YouTube and Facebook on Sunday, which went viral earlier this week and was reported on by major news outlets around the world, Ms Amyot declares that she had a one-night stand while holidaying in Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
After returning home, Amyot says, she discovered she was pregnant. Now she had returned Down Under in a desperate quest to find the “really cute” Australian father.
But it was all a lie; or more accurately, a social media marketing campaign.
In a new clip posted on Wednesday under the title ‘I found him!’ Amyot introduces English accented Andy Sellar, owner of Sunny Coast Social Media. Seller reveals the clip was made to promote Holiday Mooloolaba.
“I know there’s going to be a lot of you who are upset by this and are not too happy, but this young lady was just volunteering for this. I do all the Facebook, the YouTube,” he says.
“I did all the answering. She had nothing to do with that. She was literally just an actress.”
“We just wanted to put Mooloolaba on the map, because it’s a wonderful place.”
An unrepentant Sellar goes on to add that his company will be doing many more videos like it.