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.
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Celebrities
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, and Jerry Springer.
Politicians
On January 8, 1992, Headline News almost became a victim of death hoaxes. A man called HLN and claimed he was President George H. W. Bush's physician. He claimed Bush died following the incident he had at Tokyo. However, before anchorman Don Harrison was about to tell the news, executive producer Roger Bahre, who was off-camera, immediately yelled "No! Stop!" It turned out that a CNN employee entered the information into a centralized computer used by both CNN and Headline News, and it nearly got out on the air before it could be verified. James Edward Simth, an Idaho man, was questioned by the USSS and was later sent to a medical facility for evaluation.
On 18 March 2015, a fake website that reported the death of Lee Kuan Yew, first prime minister of Singapore. Lee was still alive at the time, but died on 23 March 2015. On 8 April 2015 the student who created the fake site was issued a warning by the AGC, after "careful consideration of all relevant factors".
Death denial rumors
An opposite phenomenon is death denial rumors: claims that a person is alive, despite official announcements of death (i.e. death certificates, confirmations, etc.). Notable cases are Elvis Presley, Andy Kaufman, Tupac Shakur and Michael Jackson.