Did singer and actress Lena Horne, who broke barriers for African-Americans in film and television, recently die? No, that's not true: The legendary entertainer died on May 9, 2010 at the age of 92, but many social media users apparently mistook posts on the 9th anniversary of her as a new death announcement and shared it with new messages of condolences.
The original reporting of Horne's death included an article (archived here) published by NPR.org on May 10, 2010 under the title "Lena Horne, Singer And Actress, Dies At 92". It opened:
One of America's legendary entertainers, singer and actress Lena Horne, died Sunday in New York City. She was 92.
In a career that spanned 60 years, Horne broke barriers for African-Americans in film and television, as well as on stages from Las Vegas to Broadway. It was a career that began with frustration and ended in triumph.
Here is a small sample of the many posts published just after the 9th anniversary of Lena Horne's death.
