Since last Thursday, Twitter was a-viral with the final inspiring words of David Rose, also known by his Twitter nickname “Dave on Wheels.” The deaf quadriplegic man with cerebral palsy was an inspiration for thousands who followed him online before his tragic death.
But the real tragedy here is not that Dave on Wheels died, but that he never existed in the first place.
That’s right, we’ve been had. It was all a big hoax.
Some of Dave’s online friends tried and failed to reach out to David’s Twitter-happy sister “Nichole,” hoping to meet her IRL. From that point, the elaborate hoax began to come apart, with the CHIVE reporting that Dave on Wheels never existed. He was created by a hoaxer who admitted that Dave was simply “a character” that had been created with a few social media accounts and photos of another person.
The man pictured on “Dave on Wheels” accounts is actually another man named Hunter Dunn, who is still alive and in good health as of this posting. A full investigative report on the “Dave on Wheels” hoax, including the full confession from the perpetrator, can be found here.
Are you bummed that “Dave on Wheels” was a hoax?
Hi Dusten, please edit your article. It wasn't the chive who discovered the hoax it was Kristi-Anne Beil with this post you already linked too. She informed the Chive and other people that were deceived after her investigation. https://dave-on-wheels-exposed.blogspot.ca/ @kristi_anneb
Nice catch. Not an intentional mislead, but my mistake nonetheless. Thanks!
I agree. KA spent endless amount of time on proving this was a hoax. I can't believe someone would try to steal her work!
No one has tried to steal her work (at least no one reflected in this article). Mine was a clerical error, not an attempt to attribute Ms. Beil's hard work to The CHIVE.
I am happy to hear that this was just done in error, Dusten! Thanks for clearing that up for us!!!
Trust me, it's very important to us at SND to give proper credit where credit is due 🙂
Dusten, @kristi_anneb identified the person behind Dave On Wheels https://dave-on-wheels-exposed.blogspot.ca