Kim Jong-Un Death Rumors Circulate on Twitter

Kim Jong-un is dead. Maybe. Well, probably not. But for the last few hours Twitter has been consumed by a rumor about the North Korean leader’s death.

The rumors, which were started on China’s version of Twitter, Weibo, claim that Kim Jong-Un was assassinated in Beijing today and that a coup is underway in North Korea. The rumors have not been confirmed by any credible source.

The rumor was perpetuated by@BBCLiveNews who tweeted: “Confirmed breaking news. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un assassinated. Updates to follow.”

But according to Forbes, @BBCLiveNews is in no way affiliated with the BBC and is considered a fake account.

Gawker reports that several messages posted on Weibo cited a “reliable source.” Phoenix Video writes:

“According to reliable sources, North Korean leader [Kim Jong-Un was killed] in Beijing in February 10 2012, at 2 o’clock and 45 minutes. Unknown persons broke into his residence shot and were subsequently shot and killed by the bodyguard.”

Do you trust a “reliable source?” With huge news like this you’d think some news network or government agency would be able to confirm it. North Korea is notorious for distorting the truth so it’s possible that they are trying to decide how to spin the assassination.

Or, a much more likely scenario, someone posted about Kim Jong-Un’s death and Twitter went crazy. It is Twitter after all. The social networking site that has “killed” Cher, Reba McEntire, Eddie Murphy, and Jon Bon Jovi in the last few months.

Do you think Kim Jong-Un is dead?