No, Michael Jordan is not dead, no matter what you may have read on the internet.
Over the weekend, a viral report spread across social media claiming that the NBA legend and cultural icon had been found dead. The death hoax took the form of a news story from a site called Viral Mugshot . The report, which was complete with spelling and grammatical errors, claimed that Michael Jordan was found dead in his home. The report claims that Jordan suffered a heart attack and was found by his wife, who called 911.
Many people who saw the link correctly assessed that it was just a hoax, especially given the sensational nature of the website. Another story on Viral Mugshot claimed that Donald Trump had been officially declared the leader of the Illuminati, which conspiracy theorists believe is a secret society that is behind everything from the world economy to the Grammy Awards.
Many noted that a low-tier site filled with clickbait news would likely never be the one to break a major story like the death of Michael Jordan.
You may have seen this but I know this is fake cuz ESPN is still doing their regular programming https://t.co/VKceOhN6Ho
— DMINQ (@DMINQOFFICIAL) November 11, 2017
But the report did seem to create plenty of confusion, with some people searching for some kind of validation that Michael Jordan is still alive.
So is Michael Jordan really dead
— maurice (@mauricelevy39) November 12, 2017
This is not the first time that Michael Jordan has fallen victim to a viral death hoax. In September 2016, a similar story began circulating around Facebook, this time claiming that Jordan had suffered a mysterious death and enticing readers to click on a link to learn more details.
But as IBT reported, the story was actually a scam to get people to share private information , one that had been used a number of other times using the fake deaths of other celebrities like Brad Pitt and Jaden Smith.
Anyone who did a bit of research would have found out that Michael Jordan is indeed still alive, and has really only been in the news when he is attracting comparisons to the new guard in the NBA.
Tonight LeBron will match Michael Jordan with 1,072 regular-season games played.
Here’s how their legacies match up. pic.twitter.com/dfmqtKZd60
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 7, 2017
So if you are scrolling through your Twitter feed and come across a story claiming that Michael Jordan was found dead, rest assured that the NBA legend is indeed very much alive.
[Featured Image by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]
