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It seems the race for viral content has reached a new level of absurdity.

California influencers have come under a wave of criticism after they were allegedly filmed staging a photoshoot right next to an ambulance while paramedics were treating a patient inside, according to the New York Post.

In a video that quickly spread across TikTok and Reddit, a man dressed in white can be seen posing on a stretcher inside the ambulance with a cigarette in his mouth while his female companion photographs him.

Nearby, paramedics are preparing a patient for transport.

The footage sparked an immediate backlash on social media.

The video shows one passerby, apparently outraged by what is happening, approaching the pair and physically ushering them away from the ambulance. The people involved in the photoshoot appear to protest, but eventually clear the way for the emergency responders.

The paramedics then load the patient into the ambulance and begin the transport.

“Maybe we should stop using the word ‘influencer’ and replace it with something like ‘idiot’?” one Reddit user suggested.

@daadisnacks peak influencer dystopia #influencer ♬ Classic classical gymnopedie solo piano(1034554) - Lyrebirds music

Another commenter pointed to what they considered an especially disturbing detail: “It’s also an incredible sense of entitlement — they’re not even embarrassed, even though there’s a person on a stretcher trying to get into an emergency vehicle.”

The video was also spotted by popular TikToker @Daadi, who has built a following by publicly calling out bizarre behavior by influencers.

“So after you smoked inside an emergency vehicle and interfered with paramedics trying to transport a patient, you still have the nerve to argue with them when they ask you to move?” he fumed.

The TikToker described the incident as an example of “peak influencer dystopia,” in which “the entire world becomes a stage for the most vapid people, who do nothing but film themselves on their phones.”

However, the controversial photoshoot could have consequences beyond online backlash.

According to the publication, such actions may violate California law. The article cites Section 148(a)(1) of the California Penal Code, which makes it an offense to willfully resist, obstruct or delay a peace officer or emergency responder in the performance of their duties.

A violation can carry a fine of up to $1,000 or a prison sentence of up to one year.

Some social media users, however, were so stunned by the footage that they questioned whether it had actually happened at all.

“This has to be staged,” one commenter wrote. “It just has to be. For my own peace of mind, I want to believe this is staged.”

It seems that even an audience accustomed to the strangest antics of internet celebrities found this particular photoshoot almost too absurd to be real.

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