Death hoax

A death hoax is a deliberate or confused report of someone's death that turns out to be incorrect and murder rumors. In some cases it might be because the person has intentionally faked death.

"James Ross Clemens, a cousin of mine, was seriously ill two or three weeks ago in London, but is well now. The report of my illness grew out of his illness; the report of my death was an exaggeration."

In the 21st century death hoaxes about celebrities have been widely perpetuated via the Internet. However they are not a new phenomenon; in 1945 following the death of Franklin Roosevelt there were hoax reports of the deaths of Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra, among other celebrities of the time. Possibly the most famous hoax of this type was the "Paul (McCartney) is dead" rumour of the late 1960s.

Hoaxes about the death of a celebrity increase in frequency when genuine celebrity deaths occur. With the 2009 death of Michael Jackson, which closely coincided with the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays and Patrick Swayze, hoax reports emerged concerning the deaths of a number of celebrities.Paul Walker's death in December 2013 sparked rumours of Eddie Murphy dying in a snowboarding accident.

Other cases of celebrity death hoaxes fueled by social media include Bill Murray, Jon Bon Jovi,Celine Dion,Jerry Springer,Bill Nye, and William H. Macy.

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Wikipedia