 "Heath Streak")
On Tuesday evening, the news of the sudden death of former Zimbabwe cricketer Heath Streak shocked the world. The 49-year-old cricketer had been undergoing cancer treatment, so the information appeared to be legit, especially with the announcement coming from his former teammate Henry Olonga. After several media outlets had picked up the news, it turned out it was a hoax. Olonga clarified this on his X (account) by sharing a Whatsapp conversation screenshot, presumably, from Streak himself.
I can confirm that rumours of the demise of Heath Streak have been greatly exaggerated. I just heard from him. The third umpire has called him back. He is very much alive folks. pic.twitter.com/LQs6bcjWSB
— Henry Olonga (@henryolonga) August 23, 2023
Now, "fake news" is a known phenomenon that can quickly get out of hand for celebrities and public figures. Gossip can get out of hand in the hands of the consumers with social media at everyone's fingertips. Here are five other times well-known figures came back from death.
Justin Bieber
This famous artist has been in the public eye since his debut in 2009 as a teen and is no stranger to death hoaxes. There have been rumours of him dying by suicide in the same year as his debut, being shot in a nightclub in January 2010 and the" RIP Justin Bieber" tag that started trending back in 2012 on X.
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The latest death hoax of the star was back in March of this year when rumours of Bieber dying in a car crash surfaced on X. Despite the rumours being quashed, the hashtag #JustinBieberDead continued to trend as users on other social media outlets picked up on the trend.
Jackie Chan
The beloved martial arts actor, stuntman and filmmaker was declared dead by netizens twice in the same year. In March 2011, Chan was reported to have died from a heart attack, and later in August, a Facebook page called "Jackie Chan RIP" gained nearly 15,000 likes, leading to an X trend.
In 2015, the actor again became a victim of a death hoax. The actor tweeted, "I'm still alive", after getting off a plane and reading the news that had spread through a Chinese social media platform, Weibo.
Rihanna
2011 was indeed a terrible year for celebrities. The popstar and artist Rihanna was reported dead twice that year, with rumours of her perishing in a plane crash in January followed by the artist sinking "into an (alcohol-induced) coma before succumbing to a heart attack" in August, according to a fake French news site, as reported by Reader's digest.
Kim Jong-Un
This particular rumour sent the world into chaos when Weibo reported the North Korean dictator as dead.
Unknown assailants had reportedly assassinated Kim Jong-Un in February 2012. The rumours resurfaced in April 2020 when images of him in a coffin began circulating the internet. It was speculated that the dictator had deliberately faked his death to "expose traitors" in his circle, according to a report by Wion in May of that year.
However, on February 13, 2017, Kim Jong-Un's half-brother Kim Jong-Nam was assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport using nerve agent VX. Shockingly the girls involved in the death claimed they thought they were participating in a YouTube prank and were both released in 2019.
Spongebob Squarepants
Tom Kenny, the voice artist for the eponymous character in the Spongebob Squarepants television series, also fell victim to the celebrity death hoax trend in 2011-2012. X was filled with a picture of Kenny standing next to a statue of Spongebob Squarepants that seemingly paid tribute to the actor and comedian. The caption read, "RIP Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob. Retweet to say thanks for making your childhood happier."
In this case, however, the rumour seemed to remain on social media and was not picked up by news outlets, according to a report by International Business Times. The caption, "Retweet to say thanks", may have alerted the public to the post being a hoax. Moreover, by this time, more than 20 celebrity names with "RIP" hashtags attached to them had gone viral on social media platforms, and the public became more sceptical of such news.
Macaulay Culkin
The Home Alone actor has been rumoured to be dead several times over the years. The actor has taken this in stride and with a sense of humour.
According to a report by Reader's Digest, Culkin has posted photos of himself with the caption "playing dead" or "Weekend at Bernie's" on his social media after rumours of his death have surfaced.
In 2018, he told jokingly told Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, "I die all the time… I'm just a specter right now."
Betty White
Before Betty White's passing at 99 in 2021, the internet was swarmed with rumours of her death in 2017. Once again, the rumours originated from X. In the case of White, however, posts claimed that her publicist had confirmed the death.
After that, rumours of the golden girl's death became a constant phenomenon on the internet, to the point that when the Hollywood legend did pass, fans refused to believe the news. The New York Post did an article on the same, titled, "Fans convinced Betty White's death is a hoax" and Cosmopolitan stated, "Unfortunately, her agent confirmed this isn't a hoax," in the subheading of the news.
