Was Shirley Caesar, a Grammy award-winning gospel singer and celebrated pastor, deceased as of May 9, 2023? No, that's not true: Caesar made at least one public appearance after May 9, 2023. There is also no indication that her health was failing at the time of writing. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on YouTube on May…
Did Robin Roberts, the longtime co-host of ABC Television's "Good Morning America" (GMA) die on January 30, 2023? No, that's not true: As of February 1, 2023, Roberts remained alive and well, and actively posting on Instagram from New Zealand. The post implying that she had died is a ruse to get readers to an ad for CBD products. The…
Was country music star Toby Keith "fighting for his life" and hospitalized as of January 25, 2023? No, that's not true: While Keith has been diagnosed with cancer, the image attached to this post does not show him hospitalized. He has also been filmed performing and doing interviews on verified social media accounts recently. The claim about Keith's health appeared…
Did the actor Michael B. Jordan die suddenly in Chicago on January 13, 2023? No, that's not true: This is a baseless claim by a clickbait website that routinely publishes death hoaxes. There is no evidence that Jordan has died although his name was recently in the news in another death hoax, the subject of a trending TikTok prank. Angela…
Has actor Michael J. Fox passed away? No, as of December 20, 2022, that's not true: His publicist told Lead Stories on December 20 that Fox is alive. Additionally, Fox's social media accounts, as well as his foundation, have not reported his death -- nor have any credible news organizations. The claim appeared on Facebook on December 19, 2022. The…
The year is almost over, so it is good to look back. First, the numbers, as of December 15, 2022. This year we have published 1,555 fact checks in English (so far ...) 283 fact checks about COVID misinformation; 244 debunks of Russian propaganda and false claims about the invasion of Ukraine; 140 debunks of false claims about election fraud,…
Did Pauley Perrette, the actor who formerly starred in the television series "NCIS," die on December 11, 2022? No, that's not true: Perrette is, at the time of writing, active on social media and in recent weeks shifted her posting from Twitter to Instagram. She has posted twice on Instagram since clickbait videos announced her death on YouTube and Instagram…
Has television personality and bounty hunter Duane Lee Chapman, also known as "Dog the Bounty Hunter," passed away as of December 13, 2022? No, that's not true: Chapman's publicist told Lead Stories on December 13, 2022, that he is "alive and well." The claim appeared in a video on Facebook on December 11, 2022. The caption read: Reality TV actor…
Was Hollywood action film star and martial artist Chuck Norris "fighting for his life" and hospitalized as of December 13, 2022? No, that's not true: No credible news organizations had reported the 82-year-old Norris as hospitalized and on the point of death as of that date. Norris also has been active on his verified social media accounts recently without any…
The celebrity death hoax has long been a clickbait staple, but recently one network has taken it to extremes, using scores of websites to host its content and an automated army of bots to push the links into Facebook groups. Many Facebook users and group administrators have noticed a sharp increase in spam postings of false death hoaxes. Examples of…
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