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Eminem’s Biggest Scandal: The Amazingly Eclectic Relocation Rumor That Won’t Die

By Dustin Kemp
Published on: 19:21 PST, Jul 8, 2016

Is Eminem Moving to Gloucester, England? How about Columbus, Ohio? Chandler, Arizona? Little Rock, Arkansas? Santa Rosa, California? No, no, no, no, and definitely NO! Supposed news sources have written stories claiming to confirm 43 year-old Eminem is moving to all of these places, and a multitude of other cities, in just the past few months, and there is absolutely no truth to any of the “reports.” Eminem is not going anywhere… at least, not right now.

What makes these “reports” so dangerous is that the “news sites” on which the fabricated Eminem relocation stories are hosted actually look fairly legitimate (at least, for casual internet users) and present the Eminem-based yarn in a way that makes it seem like credible reporting. They even include the same quote that is supposedly from Eminem himself (although it is sure to be completely fake as well) in each of the articles discussing how Eminem is tired of the fast pace living in Los Angeles and wants to find some place quieter with people who genuinely care about each other to settle down.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about the articles, though, is that they are all pretty much exactly the same, word-for-word, except for the name of the town to which Eminem is supposedly moving, which is subbed in appropriately. Below is a transcript of one of these articles.

“In a huge surprise to everyone in Los Angeles, rap superstar Eminem reveals in a new interview that he is moving to the Santa Rosa, California area. He tells the magazine that he is ‘tired of the L.A. lifestyle’ and is looking for a big change in life.

“‘I’m just tired of the L.A. lifestyle and I feel like, at this point in my life, I’d rather just live in a place full of real, genuine people. I’ve been to Santa Rosa, California a couple of times over the years and the people there are real… they’re genuine, and yeah every community has its problems but the people there are good, decent people and they care about their community. Those are the things I find most important in deciding where to live,’ Eminem told the magazine.

“‘I’m not retiring, I’m just looking for a change in life and I think I’ve found that in Santa Rosa,’ Eminem reassured fans. Let us know what you think in the comments section below especially if you’re a resident of the Santa Rosa, California area.”

The pages even use the exact same photo of Eminem performing at a concert in Washington, D.C. during November 2014.

The only other difference on the “why is Eminem moving?” pages, not counting the targeted advertising banners that rake in revenue for this shady web publisher, is the name of the supposed news source, which is often changed up for whatever reason. A few of the fake news network names at the top of the fake Eminem article pages are “KLPO News,” “KM 8 News,” and, most frequently used, “Daily News 11.”

Again, the Eminem articles are totally baseless, but they often manage to gain an amazing amount of traction online, sometimes going viral on social media. The articles have even fooled many local authorities in the cities they claim Eminem is joining.

It is unfortunate such a dishonest trend could catch on in internet culture, but, sadly, it is not unbelievable due to the prevalence of internet users, Eminem fans or not, taking even uncited news sources at face value without doing research.

It is easy to see, though, why the company behind this scheme would keep it up: they are making a ton of cash off ad revenue. The individual “Eminem moving?” stories get shot down quickly when actual news sources catch on and let people know that “No, Eminem is not moving to [whatever city],” but as long as the entity can just switch in the name of another city to which it claims Eminem will move, re-release the article under a slightly different name, and lure in a new bunch of hapless internet surfers, a new fake Eminem piece will pop up within a few days.

It is also easy to see why the people behind this would choose Eminem and his living situation as subjects for the article. Eminem is a huge star who has kept himself out of the limelight for a few years but still has a gigantic following. What’s more, Eminem’s former place of residence, Detroit, is now inextricably associated with Eminem because of the iconic rapper’s career; everyone wants to know where is the next place Eminem will put on the hip-hop culture map.

The point is, be aware! Eminem is probably not going anywhere soon, and these pages can be dismissed without question. So be a good Samaritan and share this knowledge around to keep anyone from falling for these pages. And for the love of Eminem, do not actually share the pages themselves!

[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

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