Sylvester Stallone Dead? Fake News Story Goes Viral In Latest Celebrity Death Hoax

A fake news story allegedly from CNN is making the rounds on Facebook stating that actor Sylvester Stallone is dead. There have been many celebrity death hoaxes on social media in the last few months.

Jaden Smith and Angelina Jolie were also victims of a spam news story on Facebook.

The Sylvester Stallone hoax alleges that the Rocky actor died of a prescription overdose.

The 70-year-old actor is alive and active on social media. The fake death story asks Facebook users for permission to access their page.

According to Snopes, the spam leads to a story about his son Sage Stallone who died of a heart attack in 2012 at the age of 36.

Sylvester Stallone has not responded to the death rumors, and many of his fans on Facebook believe the actor is dead.

Stallone is best known for his Rocky and Rambo series. The actor’s career has spanned many decades since the ’70s and The Expendables is one of his recent hits with the third installment released in 2014.

Sylvester Stallone recently has one of his biggest career highlights when he won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in Creed.

Stallone has five children including Sage and has been married three times.

With rumors of Stallone being dead, many fans grieved on Facebook unknowingly failing for a cruel death hoax.

Top Google searches for the actor are fans wondering if he is really dead. CNN and Fox News are added to the searches because the hoax uses the logo of these established news organizations to make the fake story look legit.

Google searches are performed primarily by Facebook users who are suspicious about the story on their Facebook news feed and want to verify the death hoax with other sources.

False stories of dead celebrities have been a problem on Facebook for several months. It is unclear what the social network is doing to detect these stories and stop them from making the rounds on Facebook.

The critically acclaimed Creed almost didn’t happen. It took Ryan Coogler a long time to convince Stallone to trust him with the movie. The young and talented director also co-wrote the film and had not shot Fruitvale Station at the time of his meeting with Stallone.

In an interview with Deadline, Sylvester Stallone discussed how Creed came about.

“It took him about two years to convince me. I had been very, very grateful the way last chapter of Rocky Balboa wrapped up his story in a satisfactory way for the audience. When Rocky waves goodbye, that was a goodbye to the audience and a thank you. I just thought, “Finally,” and thought it was a wonderful send-off.”

Despite his success in Hollywood, Sylvester struggled to get movie roles earlier in his career.

On Facebook, many fans were reciting Sylvester Stallone memorable quotes in tribute to the actor when they believed he was dead.

The actor is known for his great physique and he has maintained his buff body and keeps his fans updated on Instagram.

In the Deadline interview, Stallone spoke about his early days in Hollywood.

“I started writing around 1969, when I realized the acting wasn’t materializing. My first screenplay was basically a what I did last summer kind of story. Then in 1971, I wrote a screenplay about Edgar Allan Poe, and that got me writing about people other than myself. Then I wrote Paradise Alley because I wasn’t getting any acting jobs.”

Sylvester Stallone is set to appear in some movies next year. There is no announcement on an Expendables 4. However, it is likely that the actor will continue the successful franchise.

Don’t believe everything you read on Facebook. Sylvester Stallone is not dead and the actor is in good health.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]