The web is such a nasty, nasty place. People, especially celebrities, can be “killed” and resurrected in a flash. Apparently, Lemonade’ singer Beyoncé is the latest victim of a false report saying she was dead. HNGN quoted Parent Herald as reporting that a Facebook page has declared the highly popular and influential recording artist dead.
The page titled “R.I.P. Beyoncé” was posted on Oct. 18 claiming that the performer succumbed to severe bleeding as it asked her fans and followers to like or post comments to express their condolences to the family of the hitmaker.
On Oct. 15 Beyoncé was performing at Tidal X: 1015, a benefit concert promoted by her husband Jay-Z, when her earring snagged her braid and ripped through her earlobe. Despite the accident, living up to her reputation as a real pro, she continued with her number causing her wound to bleed profusely. The torrent of blood dripping down her face caused panic among the audience leading to the speculation that she bled to death afterwards.
While it is true that in certain cases excessive, bleeding can lead to blood loss and consequently death, Beyoncé’s rep debunked the report saying she is completely fine. In fact, she was spotted in an after concert party looking happy not to mention healthy.
This is not the first time that the ‘Unstoppable’ singer has been the victim of untrue reports about her untimely demise. She was rumored to have died in 2012 and 2015. She follows a long list of celebrities who became victims of the death hoax. Michael Schumacher, Sylvester Stallone, Kanye West, Jayden Smith and Hillary Clinton were falsely reported in recent months to have died.
According to Aussie Network News, the Facebook page garnered one million likes as it announced the singer’s death as at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. It also mentioned her birth date as Sept. 14, 1981, and that she will be missed but not forgotten.
Surely, it is comforting news to the Queen B’s fans that there was no truth to the rumour that she died, and that the energetic and curvy stage phenomenon is still here to entertain and delight the public for years to come.
Previously, a report saying that Jayden, son of actor Will Smith, committed suicide went viral and in the wake of his impending divorce from Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt was also reported to have taken his own life. Actress Jolie is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) while Pitt is the star of the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
There is no definitive study behind the motivation of these death hoaxes but there seems to be a coordinated effort to discredit celebrities. Some say the objective is to remove the visible symbols of certain views on prevailing issues. Celebrities are seen as strong influencers of public opinion that if discredited their effect on public beliefs and viewpoints can be diminished.
There is also speculation that these web antics are purposely done by some websites in order to make money. It is common knowledge that more clicks resulting from more likes and share equal more traffic to the site that would mean bigger revenue. The shock value of well-known people having died gives impetus to the creative juices of websites as far as it is concerned.
It’s a good thing in all these cases, the publicists of stars who were victimized did a good job of disproving the rumours although the handy way to spread these hoaxes through the internet makes its spread hard to totally contain. It can never be ascertained how many and how hard fans and supporters of celebrities suffer at the thought of losing their idols before the bad news can be clarified and the truth brought to light. It is very unfortunate that the pervasiveness of technology, especially the internet and social media is palpable that it can be used for good and bad.