Has Jeremy Clarkson passed away as RIPJeremyClarkson trends? – Fact Check

Rumours on social media claim that British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson has died, with the hashtag RIPJeremyClarkson trending on the platform.

FALSE

The rumour – and the hashtag – appear to be false. There appear to be no confirmed sources claiming that Clarkson has passed away.

We checked the outlets for Jeremy Clarkson’s agency, his close friends and even Clarkson himself, and found no official source confirming that the presenter passed away.

We also evaluated those posting the hashtag, looking for sources, yet those passing on the hashtag have either provided no sources or were expressing incredulity at the news.

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It is unclear how the rumour started, but it is possible that the prank website BreakYourOwnNews was at least partly responsible for fueling the hoax, with a fake screenshot spreading across Twitter (beleow.) The prank website allows users to create their own images showing “breaking news”.

Also, it seems many social media users were keen to fuel the misleading hashtag knowing that it will effectively manipulate Twitter’s algorithm (below.)

Celebrity death hoaxes are popular on social media, and one of the reasons why we recommend never getting your news from hashtags or social media posts.

There is no reason to believe Jeremy Clarkson has died. There has been no credible source and evaluated the claims has revealed that many are simply trying to “prank” Twitter. We rank the claim as false.