A YouTuber said she was expecting her first baby - there was one big problem

“My heart actually skipped a beat when I read the title of this video because I immediately felt your pain."

A YouTuber is facing fierce criticism after faking a pregnancy and miscarriage in a series of videos online.

Caroline Konstnar, a YouTuber known for her comedy and satirical sketches, went viral online in mid-April after announcing she was expecting her first child. 

It was the first clip she had uploaded in over a year, the 20yo sharing a five-minute video with her one million subscribers to explain where she’d been. 

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Caroline revealed she was expecting her first child. Picture: CarolineKonstnar/YouTube

YouTuber faces backlash for faking pregnancy video

“Yup, the rumours are true. I am knocked up big time.,” she captioned the clip. 

She began by sharing her thoughts about being 20 years old and still “figuring out what to do with [her] life.”

RELATED: Woman who suffered miscarriage ‘trolled endlessly’ after buying ‘baby’ dolls

At times throughout the video, the 20yo was visibly distressed by the news. 

“I want to have a kid, I just don’t think I can have a f**kin’ kid right now,” she said in the emotional clip. “I really want a kid, I do want a f**kin’ kid.” 

She went on to explain her previous complications with fertility; “I had like s**t going on with my uterus when I was like 16,” she explained. 

“I had surgeries to get stuff removed, so my fertility has always been kind of weird.”

Throughout the clip, Caroline took note of the ups and downs she experienced throughout her pregnancy journey, including the days when she felt “pretty awful.” 

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“It’s very overwhelming being 20 and pregnant,” she said. 

The video racked up over 600,000 views, and fans and new visitors shared their excitement and well-wishes for the YouTuber. 

“You’re gonna be THE coolest mum ever,” someone gushed. “Seeing you approach motherhood with such lowkey positivity is just precious.”

“The bit about fear of future infertility is such a raw thing to put out there on the internet,” said another. “Proud of her.”

Expecting mothers who could relate to Caroline’s story began pouring their hearts out to the YouTuber. Others opened up about their own experiences with unexpected pregnancies and thanked the American woman for her vulnerability on the matter. 

But less than two weeks later, another video was uploaded onto her channel: “I lost the baby.” 

RELATED: 'I had three miscarriages before I could access a specialist'

She shared snapshots of her pregnancy journey. PIcture: CarolineKonstnar/YouTube

“OK guys, I lost the baby…”

In the surprise new video, Caroline filmed herself walking around her kitchen and opening cupboards in search of something, her pregnant belly now gone. 

“OK guys, I lost the baby,” she said. “And I don’t know where exactly I put it.” 

It turns out the whole pregnancy was a “joke”; Caroline was never pregnant, and the entire story was fabricated. 

So why did she do it? 

It was a quasi-social experiment, a critique of the “parasocial relationships” formed between content creators and their audience. 

“When you’re a content creator, the line between entertainment and reality is very blurred,” she said in the follow-up clip. 

“Your audience will become very attached to an abstraction of yourself. This connection can become very personally meaningful to the viewers whilst not being personally meaningful to the creator itself.”

According to Caroline, she “lied about being pregnant as a joke”, but the joke wasn’t to prove the “audience was gullible enough to believe that [she] was pregnant” or that “pregnancy under strenuous circumstances is funny.” 

She said the joke was the audience was “connected to something that wasn’t real.” 

If you thought that was unreal, just wait, because Caroline wasn’t finished. 

The whole video—joke, prank, whatever you want to call it—wasn't just to discuss the influences of “parasocial relationships” with online creators, it was actually an ad for her Patreon, a subscription platform for content creators that allows subscribers to pay for exclusive content. 

“That’s right, this entire stunt has been an advertisement for my Patreon,” she said, pointing to the camera with a smile. 

RELATED: ‘I’m a fertility doctor and this is how NOT to tell a woman she’s miscarrying’

It was all a joke, a critique of parasocial relationships with creators.. Picture: CarolineKonstnar/YouTube

“A joke has a punchline”

Despite confessing the true reasoning behind her prank video, the majority of her audience was unimpressed. 

“This is such a strange thing to lie about,” someone said. “‘I was joking' - no, you were lying,” said another. “A joke has a punchline.”

“The whole thing just comes off as a tone-deaf way to make money by exploiting sympathy.” 

“Pregnancy complications are no joke,” another wrote. “Lying about it for money is just sick.”

It wasn’t just that she lied about being pregnant, but she lied about “losing the baby.”

“As a mum who has experienced multiple miscarriages, this is nauseating,” read a comment. “Please get some perspective.” 

“Faking a miscarriage to promote her Patreon is the lowest of the lowest,” said another. 

“My mum had a miscarriage 30 years ago, and it’s still something that is hard for her to talk about,” a third wrote. “I can’t believe how flippant you were about all of this.” 

“My heart actually skipped a beat when I read the title of this video because I immediately felt your pain after seeing your emotional announcement last week,” someone said.

“To learn this was all a promotion stunt really leaves me speechless. I am a father and losing a baby is one of most dreadful experiences I can imagine.”

Originally published as A YouTuber said she was expecting her first baby - there was one big problem