Zayn Malik fell victim to a death hoax on April Fools’ Day, a joke that probably caused the One Direction singer’s fans more than a little stress.
While someone thought it was hilarious to spread a rumor that Malik was dead and gone, not too many people were having a laugh at the situation. Death hoaxes are never funny, though most people should have taken a good look at their calendars before buying into the rumor.
These jokes are usually perpetrated by random goofballs online, though this particular Zayn Malik death hoax seems to have originated with a legitimate news outlet. According to Yahoo Celebrity UK , news of Malik’s death started with a bogus reported penned and posted by the folks over at BBC News .
Not surprisingly, it didn’t take very long for the news to spread among One Direction fans on Twitter. Adding to the confusion was the hashtag #RipZaynMalik, which ended up trending worldwide on April 1. Naturally, some Zayn Malik fans were deeply crushed and incredibly emotional about the singer’s supposed passing.
Gossip Cop explains that the death hoax claimed Malik was found dead inside a hotel room . Although it was eventually proven that Zayn was alive and well, some fans missed the update and headed to social media to pour out their hearts and souls. This writer can appreciate a good joke, but BBC News definitely took things one step too far.
Even people who’ve never listened to One Direction were understandably outraged by the fake BBC News article. Check out some Twitter reactions to the April Fools’ Day prank below.
I am not a One Direction fan and probably never will be, but #RipZaynMalik is one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen anyone trend!
— Ashwin Abinashi (@AshwinAbinashi) April 1, 2014
Whoever started #RipZaynMalik is so stupid. It’s not a good joke at all. Please don’t believe in those, it’s all a LIE AND A STUPID JOKE.
— abby (@arianawisely) April 1, 2014
“DEATH ISN’T FUNNY. WHOEVER STARTED THIS, I HOPE YOU DIE!” – literally every tween on the #RipZaynMalik tag.
— B (@Bmypretty) April 1, 2014
#RipZaynMalik not a directioner but this is cruel. this is someones son, friend and idol. death is not something to play with smh
— Belieber Verified (@summerbieb) April 1, 2014
not a One Directon fan but the fact #RipZaynMalik is trending is disgusting. it’s not a funny april fools joke. death is never funny.
— tommy tom-tom tomson (@LauraCarley) March 31, 2014
What do you think about the BBC running a Zayn Malik death hoax? Were you surprised that the news spread so quickly on Twitter?
[Image via Bing]
