Facebook and Twitter is absolutely stuffed with people who are convinced that Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin died on Thursday. It turns out, however, that this is a hoax. Macaulay Culkin is still very much alive.
The hoax has gone super-viral and is currently trending all over Facebook, largely because of its ingeniously deceptive presentation.
The hoaxer has included of a thumbnail picture that looks an awful lot like a still from a real TV news broadcast about Culkin's death. In addition, the hoaxer has chosen a URL that at first glance appears to be MSNBC, the US news network.
Facebook users have shared the link to the hoax story over 700,000 times.
At first glance the story looks credible, although it starts to fall apart when you wonder why the detective involved shares his name with a famous author who wrote books about the New York Police Department.
The hoaxer behind the fake news story has covered the website in adverts, which should be highly profitable.
Despite the flaws in the story, everyone lost their stuff because the headline was already all over the internet.
macauley culkin has passed away, this can't be true. he made my childhood 😭
But as this Instagram picture shows, Culkin was still performing with his band on Friday night.
Culkin seems particularly prone to death hoaxes, possibly due to his brief burst of near-universal fame followed by a sudden slide into obscurity.
Macaulay Culkin has Been found dead again. Think this is the 7th or 8th time.
Never fear. You can sit back and watch Home Alone without being concerned about the star, or go and see Culkin play with his pizza-themed Velvet Underground band, The Pizza Underground.