Noted: Celebrity Hoax Death Reports

From left, clockwise: Danny Moloshok/Reuters; Cindy Ord/Getty Images; Max Nash/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images; Evan Agostini/AGOEV, via Associated Press; Alexandre Meneghini/Associated Press; Chronicle Books

Among those targeted by fake death stories were, clockwise from top left, Tony Danza; Jerry Springer; Morgan Freeman; Jon Bon Jovi; Justin Bieber and Boo, a Pomeranian.

TONY DANZA died recently, twice.

Word of Mr. Danza's demise circulated this month when a shady news source called Global Associated News ran a story saying he "died while filming in New Zealand," having fallen "more than 60 feet to his death on the Kauri Cliffs."

Mr. Danza's appearance on the "Today" show, where he was promoting a new book, helped put that rumor to rest.

But in an age of Twitter and microblogging platforms, celebrity death hoaxes have become yet another pitfall of fame. Other celebrities to have "died" in recent weeks include Morgan Freeman (artery rupture), 50 Cent (private plane crash), Eddie Murphy (snowboarding accident) and Jerry Springer (auto accident).

In each case, they were hoaxes created by a user for no clear reason other than entertainment. Mark Bell, an adjunct professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who studies deception in digital media, likened the hoaxes to childhood pranks.

"People like to lie," he said. "They get a thrill from it. There is a little hit of dopamine when you lie, especially a lie that is believed by somebody else."

Many of the fake deaths, including Mr. Danza's, were generated on Fake a Wish, a Web site that promotes a "celebrity fake news hoax generator" that allows anyone to create a baseless story attributed to Global Associated News.

The pranks aren't victimless. Mr. Springer was told that he died while driving a friend's vehicle on a highway. He immediately checked in with his family. "My wife couldn't read it," he said. "It was just too difficult for her."

Celebrity death hoaxes are not new. Mr. Bell pointed to the rumors surrounding Mark Twain in 1897, to which he famously responded, "The report of my death was an exaggeration." What's different today, he said, is the ease and speed with which such rumors can be created and circulated.

Often, all it takes is a Twitter hashtag or Facebook page to set a hoax in motion, as has happened to Bill Cosby, Jon Bon Jovi and Justin Bieber, who over the years has been shot in nightclubs, died in car crashes and overdosed on drugs.

"There's not a lot of cost, either financially, morally, legally or criminally in doing this," Mr. Bell said.

Death hoax victims aren't limited to humans. Boo, a fluffy Pomeranian with more than 5.3 million Facebook fans, was said to have died in a Twitter message posted by Sam Biddle, a writer for the technology blog Gizmodo.

Mr. Biddle said that the message was mostly just a joke aimed at colleagues and that he "had zero expectation of it actually turning into a certifiable death rumor." But soon, it was reposted and took on a life of its own.

April Whitney, Boo's publicist at Chronicle Books, which has published a book about the dog, said the news was "like walking into your house and realizing you've been robbed." But she admitted that the hoax may have attracted new fans and sold books. "It actually ended up helping a little bit at the end," she said.

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE 20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/fashion/celebrity-hoax-death-reports.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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