Miley Cyrus is allegedly dead. That is, a fake Facebook message makes one think the pop star died “some 48 minutes ago.”
Softpedia reports that earlier this week, a Facebook message was making its rounds on the internet with a link to a video that provided details of Cyrus’ supposed death from an overdose..
The thumbnail apparently looks real enough, but when the duped person clicks on the image, they are taken to a malicious version of the Facebook website, according to Online Threat Alerts. Once there, viewers are asked to complete surveys and/or share the link with their online friends.
This will just spread the hoax further as their Facebook friends may then receive their own fake message, which is the ultimate goal of these survey companies.
The image used may seem legit to Cryrus-fan neophytes because it actually comes from the controversial music video, Blonde SuperFreak Steals the Magic Brain, which features the 21-year-old singer and Flaming Lips in several scenes depicting an overdose.
Why on earth is @MileyCyrus passed out, surrounded by pills? http://t.co/80pOZVfgrA pic.twitter.com/xCnpuQ8JyR
— OK! Magazine (@OK_Magazine) July 9, 2014
Back in July, a similar death hoax made its rounds about Cyrus, with the headline “{SHOCKING) Miley Cyrus Found Dead in Her Los Angeles Home! Country singer Miley Cyrus found overdosed this afternoon in her Los Angeles home,” according to Hollywood Life.
SO scary. @MileyCyrus was the victim of a disturbing Internet death hoax –> http://t.co/LrRSW8mepx pic.twitter.com/2dMBIqjQ0z
— PopCrush (@PopCrush) July 21, 2014
There have been several other celebrity death hoaxes over the past months, including some that have suggested that Taylor Swift, Macaulay Culkin, Judd Nelson, Nancy Reagan and even, JLo have died.
Poor #JLo became a victim of a death hoax on social media. http://t.co/uZnulbA2fZ #JLoIsFine pic.twitter.com/w1NFT0zcZt
— Yahoo Singapore (@YahooSG) April 20, 2014
Keep these hoaxes in mind when supposed news of a celebrity’s death hits social media. Check first with legitimate news sources before clicking on any social media links.