What you might not know about the American author
Back in 2001, Britney and JT were reported dead by two DJs in Dallas, who were apparently just playing a cruel prank.
In July 2011, the Fox News Twitter account was hacked, with the hackers tweeting that Obama had been assassinated.
Back in 2016, Black's band Tenacious D had their Twitter hacked. "We can assure you that Jack is ALIVE and WELL and that this was a sick 'prank,'" they later tweeted.
See also: How to spot fake news
In 2019, rumors spread like wildfire that Eastwood had died of a heart attack. But this was not the first time the actor had been declared dead, as there was a similar report in 2017.
On November 26, 2020, after the passing of soccer god Maradona, many people got confused and thought it was Madonna who passed away. While both are legends, let's be clear: the Queen of Pop is alive and well.
Legendary singer Dionne Warwick joined Twitter for the first time at age 80, and was an instant sensation. When false rumors started to circulate that she had died, she shared one of the reports on Twitter with the caption "Oh no!"
Prior to her actual death on September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II was reported dead after contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic, and again in March of 2022 after she hadn't been seen in public for a few weeks due to poor health.
'Great Balls of Fire' singer Jerry Lee Lewis was falsely reported dead on October 26, 2022. "He's alive," a spokesperson for Lewis' management company told NBC News. "TMZ reported erroneously off of a bull**** anonymous tip." In a surprising twist, the singer did actually pass away two days later on October 28, aged 87.
The hashtag #RIPJimmyFallon started trending on Twitter the night of November 15, 2022, and 'The Tonight Show' host was quite surprised to read the news, considering that he is alive and well. The trend comes as yet another collective joke mocking Elon Musk's poor handling of his recently purchased platform. Fallon himself tweeted, "Elon, can you fix this? #RIPJimmyFallon.” Most people were intentionally demonstrating how Musk's decision to fire so many employees involved with content moderation has led to a skyrocketing amount of fake news, but others actually thought the TV host had passed. The more mischievous ones in on the prank even tweeted the hashtag with photos of different TV hosts like James Corden.
The basketball icon died from a heart attack in 2015, according to a fake article from La Crónica de Hoy.
On December 1, 2022, a false news story started circulating that 'America's Got Talent' creator Simon Cowell had died. A YouTube video showed a coffin surrounded by white flowers and a large photo of Cowell on an easel beside it. Former President Bill Clinton appears to stand before the coffin in a facemask paying his respects. The video title claimed to have breaking news about the death of Simon Cowell, but of course, the media mogul and presenter is alive and well. In fact, he appeared at the yearly Royal Variety Performance in London along with a host of royals and other celebrities on the very day he was reported dead. The photo used in the video was actually photoshopped from the 2021 funeral of baseball legend Hank Aaron, which Bill Clinton did attend.
George Soros, a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist famous for starting his own hedge funds and then donating 80% of his wealth, was falsely pronounced dead on the internet on May 14, 2023. The words "George Soros dead" went viral after a so-called "conspiracy theorist" named Cillian tweeted a breaking news announcement that George Soros died of a "violent heart attack." Cillian attributed the news to Politics For All Ireland, another fake account on social media, and his tweet, from his handle CilComLFC, was viewed by more than 745,000 people. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first death hoax for Soros, as Reuters mistakenly published his obituary in 2013.
The 95-year-old philosopher and linguist has had a home in Brazil since 2015, and had been in hospital in Sao Paulo recovering from a stroke he suffered in 2023 when rumors of his death started trending on X. Popular publications like Jacobin, the British newspaper The New Statesman, and the Brazilian news site Diario do Centro do Mundo published his obituaries on June 18. However, when the Associated Press reached out to Chomsky's wife, Valeria Wasserman Chomsky, she responded, "No, it is false." In fact, the Beneficencia Portuguesa hospital in Sao Paulo where he had been hospitalized said in a statement that Chomsky had been discharged on Tuesday to continue his recovery at home.
Fake news comes for everyone, especially the rich and famous. It seems like every day there's another fake story about a celebrity or public figure. However, false rumors take on new weight when it comes to celebrity deaths. Many celebs have been reported dead, when in reality they're alive and breathing.
Ailing former President Jimmy Carter fell victim to the death hoax in recent days. A letter claiming to be from "the office of Jimmy Carter" announcing his death began to circulate the internet on July 23, but was quickly proven to be a fake. The supposed statement gave itself away by including a paragraph that criticized policies Carter implemented while he was president. Carter's family confirmed that he is still hanging on and receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he has been since 2023. Carter is 99 years old and his health has been declining since the death of his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in November 2023.
Click on to meet the other celebs and public figures who were falsely reported dead.
Famous figures who were reported dead while still alive
Former President Jimmy Carter incorrectly reported dead in fake statement
CELEBRITY Fake news
Fake news comes for everyone, especially the rich and famous. It seems like every day there's another fake story about a celebrity or public figure. However, false rumors take on new weight when it comes to celebrity deaths. Many celebs have been reported dead, when in reality they're alive and breathing.
Ailing former President Jimmy Carter fell victim to the death hoax in recent days. A letter claiming to be from "the office of Jimmy Carter" announcing his death began to circulate the internet on July 23, but was quickly proven to be a fake. The supposed statement gave itself away by including a paragraph that criticized policies Carter implemented while he was president. Carter's family confirmed that he is still hanging on and receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he has been since 2023. Carter is 99 years old and his health has been declining since the death of his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in November 2023.
Click on to meet the other celebs and public figures who were falsely reported dead.