The Claim

A TikToker with the username “movie.clipstv2” claims that Alex Dougherty, a famous TikToker and a part of the Dougherty Dozen, died in July of 2024. The Dougherty Dozen is a family TikTok account, with approximately 7 million followers. Alex Dougherty is the oldest child in the family of 13. This TikTok has more than 400 likes and more than 78,000 views … but is it true? 

Here’s how we fact-checked it.

Who’s Behind the Information?
One key technique when determining if an online claim is factual or not is to uncover who is giving the information. In this situation, we went to the bio of “movie.clipstv2”. At best, it was underwhelming and provided no information about the user. Instantaneously, we found this suspicious. 

These are indicators of upfront misinformation. In certain cases, misinformation is shown in a craft way, and in other cases it is shown directly. 

Look Into the Evidence & What Experts Say

We began our journey to confirm this misinformation with some magnification. We zoomed in on one of the images provided on the video and it raised a few red flags. First, we saw “Private” in front of Alexander Dougherty. After a bit of research, we learned that “Private” is a military rank referring to the lowest grade an enlisted member can receive. Below the name, said “8th BATTN C•E•F”.  Upon further research we learned that “8th BATTN C•E•F” means “8th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force”. Second, the text on the image from TikTok was covering what would be the dates the person lived. With another hunch, we used reverse image search and found the true headstone of the real Alexander Dougherty who had passed away. From a few clicks on the Internet, we discovered the truth about this TikTok. 

Next, we looked into the evidence by searching “Alex Dougherty death” and began reading different articles, including one from “The Direct”, which said that he was not dead and addressed the claims. Following that, we went to Alex Dougherty’s TikTok page and searched for his response video. He linked a comment to his video and humorously danced in a car with his girlfriend. Alex Dougherty proved the rumors wrong by showing his existence in the world. 

Our Rating

Not Legit. This was a claim regarding the “death” of Alex Dougherty. It’s easy to stumble across false or unreliable information on social media platforms, especially those that are found on TikTok, which are commonly untrue. In conclusion, always make sure to use all different types of tools to understand the overall impact of rumors circulating the internet.