Internet celebrity death hoaxes are a popular phenomenon online, with anywhere from a dozen celebs being prematurely written off spreading at any one time.
However occasionally such hoaxes take a strange twist by using a celebrity who already passed away some time ago, leading to many very belated RIP messages.
UK artist Tony Hart, for example, passed away in 2009 but bizarrely in 2015 the news of his death broke again leading to many people expressing their condolences, failing to realise it had been 6 years since he passed.
And it was this hoax that US National Security Advisor Susan Rice has recently fallen for, only this time the hoax was about Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart. Achebe passed away in 2013, yet strangely messages about his death began spreading again this week.
Amidst the people belatedly wishing the celebrated author their condolences was the National Security Advisor for the Obama administration, Susan Rice, who wrote “Despite the promise of the future, today is a somber day in Nigeria, as Chinua Achebe was laid to rest in his native village.”
Embarrassing for Rice, not only because Achebe was actually laid to rest nearly two years ago, but because Rice is considered one of the top advisors vis-a-vis Africa in the US government.
Rice later tweeted “Any occasion to remember the life & legacy of one of Africa’s greats, Chinua Achebe, is worth noting (+ a good reminder to read fine print!)”
Just goes to show that if the top minds in the US government can be taken in by a hoax, any one can.
Want some tips on spotting and debunking rumours? Read our two part blog here.