Deaf News: Anger as TikTok trend claims Helen Keller was ‘not real’

A trend on the social media app TikTok has faced criticism after claiming deafblind activist Helen Keller was a ‘fraud’ and did not exist.

Keller, who became deafblind in 1882 following illness, went on to write several books and became the first deafblind person to graduate with a Bachelor of the Arts degree from Radcliffe College, at Harvard University.

However, in the hashtag #HelenKeller, users have cast doubt on Keller’s life and her achievements.

In a video, one individual argues that there is “no way” that she was real.

“You’re telling me she was blind, deaf, wrote 12 books, learned 5 languages, rode a bike, fell out of a building and DIDN’T die, went to harvard [sic], flew a plane & had really good handwriting umm try again,” the video reads.

Another jokes about Keller not being deaf and blind, with the caption “there’s just no way”.

A third, which asks viewers to interact with it “if you agree that Helen Keller wasn’t real”, has received 149k likes and 3.9k comments.

In a viral thread, Twitter user Daniel Kunka mentioned a family discussion about Keller, in which his nieces responded that she was “a fraud who didn’t exist”.

“At first I thought they were trolling grandma, which is admittedly fun. But after a while it was clear they weren’t joking.

“‘How could someone be deaf and blind and learn how to write books?’ My nephew admits she probably existed but was probably one or the other.

“I still thought I was being trolled so I asked if I was getting trolled and they were adamant – Helen Keller was a fraud,” it reads.

And when I say BITE ME

Let me unpack that!

What I mean is:

Helen Keller was NOT a fraud!

She went to college, learned how to read, write, and communicate.

So did I!

So did @HabenGirma

So have many other Deafblind people!

— Elsa Sjunneson, an Actual Bat (@snarkbat) January 6, 2021

Responding to the trend, DeafBlind scholar Professor Elsa Sjunneson stressed that Keller was not a fraud.

“She went to college, learned how to read, write and communicate. So did I!

“So did Haben Girma. So did many other Deafblind people,” she tweeted.

Deaf actress Marlee Matlin also responded on social media, adding that the trending topic is “shocking” and “inexcusable”.

“[It is] a sad example of how deaf, deaf blind and people with disabilities can literally be tweeted out of existence. 

“I will NEVER give up fighting against ableist nonsense like this,” she writes.

A TikTok spokesperson has been approached for comment.

Photo: US Embassy New Delhi/Flickr.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.

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Update: In a statement to The Limping Chicken, a TikTok spokesperson said:  “TikTok is an inclusive community, and we do not tolerate hateful behaviour.

“Content that dehumanises others on the basis of a disability is a violation of our Community Guidelines, and we remove such content from our platform.”