Internet death hoaxes

[Cleo Catra 178382]

I will never understand why people start internet death hoaxes. Can you imagine waking up one day and seeing your own name all over the internet as someone who has just died, while you're actually sitting there alive and well?

 

The worst thing about this is, it causes people to question whether a report of a death is true or not.

 

Right now I'm reading reports that Lou Reed is in fact alive and well, and his death reported was a hoax. But I think that hoax... is a hoax, as there are more reports confirming the death.

 

It's awful because people should just be able to mourn the loss of an amazing artist, rather than have to search through articles to see if someone is actually dead or not.

 

I'll never understand the thought process behind these things!

[roamingguy 300292]

The worst part, the person's family and friends read those same death hoax's. Could you imagine the feeling reading a family member/friend died, and it turned out to be a hoax

RG

[Emma Alexandra 123368]

I had someone tell me once they were sorry to hear of the death of my brother. Can you imagine the horror and shock I felt especially since I hadn't heard from him in awhile. Needless to say we stay in touch more often now but it was a horrifying feeling to say the least. It's awful for people to do such things.

 

So is Lou dead or alive?

[roamingguy 300292]

I had someone tell me once they were sorry to hear of the death of my brother. Can you imagine the horror and shock I felt especially since I hadn't heard from him in awhile. Needless to say we stay in touch more often now but it was a horrifying feeling to say the least. It's awful for people to do such things.

 

So is Lou dead or alive?

 

That shock to family and friends the worst. Those who post such hoaxes, it's not humorous in the least, just cruel.

As to your question, now according to msn he is dead, but a google search and it's a hoax

RG

[mrgreen760 37785]

I'm not famous enough to be the subject a hoax like that :) Too bad it would cool in way to know what people thought about me while I was in fact still here.....or maybe not lol

 

Sadly, Lou is gone.

 

Peace

MG

[Guest B**na***oy]

These things always happen under cover of anonymity, if the real identity of the ''courageous'' hoaxter was revealed more often, there wouldn't be as many incidents.

[Johnny Canuck 5347]

It's almost as if these people are writing these stories with the mantra "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!" To me it just shows no class what so ever.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

These things always happen under cover of anonymity, if the real identity of the ''courageous'' hoaxter was revealed more often, there wouldn't be as many incidents.

They don't always happen under cover of anonymity... Some people openly will say Elvis is still alive.

[qwertyaccount 15793]

Aside from the cruelty to friends & family, there is also a financial consequence to them - some will have canceled work for the next day(s) and booked a flight.

 

Now if some of these hoaxters started to get sued for actual damages and punitive damages I'm sure the number of incidents would drop like a stone.

[Guest B**na***oy]

They don't always happen under cover of anonymity... Some people openly will say Elvis is still alive.

 

Well in some cases, they should remain anonymous then. ;-)

[Chanel Reign 28097]

It was Mediamass that reported that Lou Reeds death was a hoax. They do this all the time. I fail to understand why.

 

So the hoax was a hoax and he has passed. Can you imagine the roller coaster his family was on today? Disgusting.

[Guest realnicehat]

What I find almost more annoying than these hoaxes are some peoples willingness to share or repost almost anything without verification. They see something on Facebook or Twitter and just assume because it is on a screen in front of them it must be true.

 

Some that I have seen in recent memory that were all fake (outside of all the phoney deaths):

 

An angry rant attributed to Bill Cosby (I'm 83 and I'm tired)

 

A praise of older women attributed to Andy Rooney

 

A giant donation made by Denzel Washington (partially true but over 4 years old)

 

All of these things are circulated to generate "shares" and "likes". People don't realize they are actually part of a money making scheme.

 

http://daylandoes.com/facebook-like-scams/