Twitter awash in reports of Aretha Franklin’s death

Ailing soul singer Aretha Franklin, she of the satellite-sized hat, has been treated recently for the notoriously rough pancreatic cancer.

Twitter rumors have abounded that the 68-year-old songstress had succumbed to the illness, and the tale gained traction via the normally useful retweet function as users clicked it to retweet their ultimately useless condolences. As of now, there is no cause to believe Franklin has died, nor that she is any new danger of doing so in the near future.

CNN Correspondent Roland S. Martin debunked the rumor on his Twitter feed, calling out the people who tweet and re-tweet erroneous information:

Folks, we have NOTHING to report on Aretha Franklin. EVERYTHING you’re hearing right now is all rumors. Please,…http://fb.me/LXbXsEV4

Please, stop tweeting/updating about the health status of Aretha Franklin. We have NO REPORTS/CONFIRMATION about her health changing. NONE

I have checked. Others I know have checked. If we have any OFFICIAL news on Aretha Franklin, I & others will update. Thanks.

@Mistynah but check w/trustworthy sources first before posting on Twitter. Folks love 2 spread nonsense. someone’s death is SENSITIVE info

If information as of now changes, we will update. But as of now, there is no confirmation to the rumor that Aretha Franklin has died.