Staged death the new internet craze sweeping South Africa

People are photographing themselves in realistic-looking death poses and posting the pictures on Facebook.

An internet craze where people take and upload photos of themselves looking as if they've been killed has been slammed for its morbidity.

It's all part of the #deadpose trend among social media users in South Africa, in which people fake staged elaborate death scenes.

One man was photographed after placing raw meat around his neck with an axe embedded in it.

In other poses, people hang themselves. Others arrange themselves on a pile of bricks, with a few bricks on top, as if they have been killed by falling building supplies.

People can be seen floating in rivers, sprawled on building sites and lying underneath cars.

Some of the photos use accessories, others are just posed. Photo / Facebook

We'll spare you the more graphic examples.

But the trend has received the most condemnation for a heartbreaking video of a little girl named Omuhle, who weeps in distress after finding her aunt lying motionless on the floor.

Bontle Goitsimang, Omuhle's mother, told MailOnline her baby was "in on the joke".

"She knew what was going on, she realised it was a joke, I think she is laughing more than crying," she said.

"I was filming it, it was my sister on the floor, it was all planned. It was just a joke, a very quick joke. It is only fun, a small funny thing."

But many people online see it differently, and some have called for the woman to be prosecuted and lose custody of the girl.

Yeah, we think we'll give this trend a miss.