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Michael Jordan Dead? Viral Hoax Claiming Air Jordan Was Found Dead In His Home Is Actually A Facebook Scam

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 17:23 PST, Sep 24, 2016

No, Michael Jordan is not dead.

A viral report making the rounds on social media this week claimed that His Airness was found dead in his home, but the story was actually part of a scam aimed at getting the personal information of Facebook users. Still, the report managed to fool a lot of basketball fans and led to some hasty condolences for the NBA legend.

The story claiming that Michael Jordan is dead appeared to be a strictly Facebook phenomena, spreading rapidly this weekend in the form of a link teasing details about his alleged death. Users then had to click through to read the rest, but landed on a page asking for some personal information.

As IBT reported, this was actually all a scam — and an old one, at that.

“The latest death hoax is nothing but a revamped version of the old fake reports that circulated in November 2015. But fans can relax as the former NBA player is alive. In fact, on Thursday he spoke about violent protests taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

If the circumstances of the Michael Jordan death hoax sound familiar, that may be because the exact same scenario has played out a few dozen times in the last few months. Hoaxers have spread reports about the deaths of a number of celebrities, athletes, and politicians, and often as part of some elaborate scam.

That was the case with a nearly identical hoax that spread this week claiming that actor Brad Pitt was found dead at a shooting range, the victim of suicide. The report started making the rounds just hours after Pitt and wife Angelina Jolie announced that they were divorcing, and it was a clear attempt to take advantage of the attention on Pitt.

As Snopes noted, the story was really just a ruse to get Facebook users to share personal information. The report found that after submitting this information, users were given just a few crudely written paragraphs that were devoid of any real details.

“Brad Pitt, 52, a multiawarded American actor and husband of Angelina Jolie, 41, shot himself in the head at a shooting range on Sunday. He was under significant stress because the couple ‘were going through a divorce and he had a history of depression’, sources have said.”

There have been many, many other victims of the celebrity death hoax craze in recent years. While this appears to be the first time that the internet declared Michael Jordan dead, a number of celebrities have been hit multiple times by these rumors.

One of the most prominent recent examples is Jaden Smith, the young actor who fell victim to a long string of death reports across this summer. As the U.K.’s Mirror reported, these were also Facebook phishing scams.

“The hoax – which involves getting permission to post on the user’s page on the social media site – has been spread by people noticing it on their newsfeed as more and more people click on the fake link.

“The spam apps lured many users in, but Jaden – who is yet to respond to the rumors – is alive and well four years after a similarly cruel prank.”

And anyone who took some time and did a bit of investigating would have learned that the story claiming Michael Jordan is dead was a fake. Jordan, the part owner of the Charlotte Hornets, actually put out a statement this week encouraging protesters in the city to find peaceful ways to get their message across after the controversial police shooting death of Keith Scott.

So if you’re on Facebook and come across a story claiming that Michael Jordan is dead, just remember to keep scrolling and don’t be tempted to click on it.

[Featured Image by Stephan Savoia/AP Images]

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