Man who went viral for saying he was stood up on date admits story was fake

A man whose TikTok about being stood up on a date went viral has revealed that it was a complete hoax.

In June 2021, Craig Moffat - a 23-year-old Scotland native - posted a TikTok that showed him catching multiple trains. In overlaid text, Moffat admitted to viewers that he was “finally going on a date after two years of being single” and that he was “so excited”.

The video then showed Moffat at the restaurant alone, with the TikToker claiming that he arrived 20 minutes early, before it concluded with footage of the train station platform. In the text, he wrote: “I guess I’ll just head home” and “I was really looking forward for tonight,” alluding to viewers that he was stood up by his alleged date.

In the caption, Moffat wrote: “Maybe it’s not time to get back out there just yet” beside the hashtags #heartbroken and #allwomenarethesame.

After he posted it, the video went viral, having since received more than 17.8 million views and over 44,000 comments, many of which were kind comments that largely tried to comfort Moffat amid his supposed heartbreak. Some wrote that he had “dodged a bullet” or that he deserved better, while others implored him to “keep [his] head up” and not to give up on love. In a comment that received over 3,980 likes, Moffat addressed the outpour of support beneath his video: “Thank you everyone. I didn’t expect to get this much of a response! I really appreciate all the kind words.”

Two years later, however, Moffat has revealed in a follow-up TikTok video that it was all fake.

On 14 September, Moffat shared the clips from his original date video, with new overlaid texts that read: “Creating a fake TikTok pretending to get stood up on a date cause I was bored,” which then cut to the enormous number of views his viral video initially received.

Moffat revealed to Insider that the idea for the video came to him after a day spent traveling alone. His friends were meant to join him but they had all missed the train, leaving him to travel alone. Initially, he decided to film the trip as a way to experiment with his new phone’s camera, but after he treated himself to a meal at a restaurant, he was inspired. He explained to the outlet, “I was eating dinner and had the most random thought that I should make them all into a TikTok and pretend to get stood up.”

He said that after eating, he edited the clips together when he got back to his hotel room and uploaded the video shortly before he joined his friends, who had caught a later train after missing the other one.

The last thing that Moffat expected was to receive two million views the following day, he told the outlet. “Honestly it was so overwhelming,” Moffat admitted to Insider. “I felt so bad about the whole situation.” However, as more and more people interacted with the video, Moffat said: “It was actually really nice to see all the messages from everyone saying so many nice things.”

Moffat’s reveal led some viewers to call him a “liar,” while others found the hoax to be hilarious. He told the outlet that he has been unfazed by the mixed response, saying: “I wasn’t really concerned about what people would comment.”

Rather, he said he wanted the “hype” surrounding the video to finally be over. Moffat’s video on being stood up isn’t an anomaly, as videos like his tend to strike a chord among viewers. Back in February, an 89-year-old man who said he’d been stood up during his first dinner date in 30 years, went viral and his comment section flooded with comforting, kind words. Meanwhile, in July, TikTok user @jonathandoescomedy posted a video after he waited 30 minutes for a date who didn’t turn up and received over 243,000 views.