At the start of the year, it was announced that television medium and psychic Derek Acorah had passed away at the age of 68.
His wife Gwen said that her “beloved” husband had passed away following a “brief illness”.
Mr Acorah was best known for Living TV’s Most Haunted program which ran from 2002 – 2010. It returned in an online edition and on Really TV at various times until 2019.
However, Mr Acorah’s stint on the show saw him labelled as a fake, and as such he left the show in 2005 after filming six series.
Mr Acorah, who was born Derek Johnson in Bootle, Merseyside, made a cameo appearance in the 2006 Doctor Who episode Army of Ghosts and entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2017, finishing in fourth place.
He was banned from driving for more than two years in 2014 when he admitted to careless driving and failing to provide a further breath test following a car crash.
In addition to a 28-month ban, Mr Acorah received a £1,000 fine and had to pay a £100 victim surcharge.
However, fans have been a little shocked as it appears their messages of condolences on social media site Twitter, are being retweeted on Mr Acorah’s account.
One fan tweeted:
“How did Derek Acorah retweet news of his own death? What’s going on? Is there anybody there?”
Another said:
“Sad news about Derek Acorah. That he’s able to retweet his own condolences is a testament to his powers.”
A third tweeted:
“Is Derek Acorah that good at his job he’s able to retweet his own ‘rest in peace’ tweets from the other side.”
However, this has brought up another issue, regarding the right to access Mr Acorah’s digital assets, such as his social media accounts.
With 33% of the world’s population having a social media account of some description, it’s not hard to believe that few of them have considered the implications of what happens to their online data after they die.
Currently, Facebook is the only social media platform that allows users to make digital legacy decisions before they die. Which brings into question, whoever has access to Mr Acorah’s Twitter account must have his log in details.
Users of social media need to consider their Wills and the content they perceive as pertinent for inclusion in the future. Failing to consider communication data and who will inherit it after a death could mean that it is lost indefinitely.
When you talk to clients do you ask them to take into consideration their digital assets?
