The latest internet death hoax found its victim in Jon Bon Jovi yesterday. Twitterverse and the interwebs were buzzing about the fact that Bon Jovi was dead after paramedics found him in a coma at his Empress Hotel, then died of a cardiac arrest at a hospital in Jersey Shore.
Ironically, I was on my way to see another pop/rock icon, Prince, when all the buzz took place. Close to 24 hours have passed since the rumor started and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief that Jon Bon Jovi is alive and living on a prayer. Using Visible Intelligence, the spike in the chart below indicates the information surfaced and spread at around 3pm (PT) on Monday, 12/19, and continued to make the rounds until early evening.
And not surprisingly, the highest volume of conversation about Jon Bon Jovi’s death took place on Twitter.
The rumor dissipated just as quickly as it spread. Taking a look at the prominent terms below, “alive” and “hoax” confirm the latest victim of the internet death hoax.
JBJ himself put the rumors to rest by tweeting a photo holding a dated sign assuring fans he is alive and well. And while condolences were being shared online, tweets confirming a hoax soon followed.
Let this be a lesson that not everything you read on the internet is true, but never underestimate the power of social media and how quickly information (true or false) can go viral in no time at all.
So, did you fall for the rumor, even for a split second, when you first read about it online?
