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True Or False: A Death Hoax Killed Paul Walker Before He Actually Died

by Robert Gordon

The death of movie star Paul Walker is a tragic and confusing one, and there are still many questions left unanswered.

Many sites have reported that prior to Walker dying after a single car accident he was a passenger of, a website had reported his death as a hoax.

The site in question, Media Mass, allegedly put out a post that reported Walker’s death was a hoax, published prior to his actual time of death on November 30. This caused massive confusion, as many people did not know whether Walker’s death was legitimate, even after his reps confirmed it.

If you look at the URL of the updated post that was initially titled “Paul Walker dead 2013: Actor killed by celebrity death hoax,” it still has the term “deathhoax” despite being updated to confirm his death.

While this post is seemingly chilling, as it apparently predicted Walker’s death, the fact of the matter is, Media Mass is a click-baiting site that has this sort of URL for nearly every celebrity under the sun. In fact, a quick search on the site reveals typing in the term “death hoax” produces 37,000 articles, all with virtually the same verbiage.

From Will Smith to Rick Rick Roll Astley, everyone with any sort of celebrity status has been killed by Internet rumors, according to Media Mass, all for the love of driving traffic.

The fact of the matter is: no, there wasn't an actual death hoax posted the day before Paul Walker's death, but just an automatically generated rumor using his name as click bait. It’s a pathetic practice that isn’t exclusive to Media Mass, but its tastelessness bit the site in the ass when Paul Walker actually died.

Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet, as a quick Google search could refute what you initially were told. Calm down and keep searching!

Top Photo Credit: WENN