Vin Diesel Dead? 'Fast & Furious' Actor's Alleged Death Goes Viral!
Vin Diesel trended online recently, not because he has another action film to look forward to but because netizens thought he is already dead!
When it comes to action films in Hollywood, Diesel's name is always on the top list, especially when it is a new piece from "Bloodshot" or from the "Fast & Furious" franchise.
On May 30, the 52-year-old actor retook the spotlight after becoming the subject of a death hoax.
Over that weekend, a major announcement about his alleged death started to circulate online and reached millions of people -- so much so that it trended on Google.
Vin Diesel's fans got worried after the fake story, which originated on Facebook, showed the false headline and a hoax CNN video reporting Diesel's death due to a car accident "after a stunt gone wrong."
What made the link even worse was that the clip itself contained a pornographic video. It spread like wildfire within hours since it required all the social media users who fell for it to share the link before they could gain access to the news page.
Since Diesel is currently busy working on various movies like "Avatar 2," "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," and "Furya," such news immediately stirred people's curiosity resulting in the trending hoax news.
Although the news' appearance was too sudden, it was not the first time that the "Fate of the Furious" star got involved in an online fraud.
Back in 2018, Politifact noted that Diesel also became a subject of a death rumor. It did not go viral like the most recent one, but it indicated that the actor also succumbed in a sudden car crash. Even in the previous years, most of the Vin Diesel death news alleged that he died during film production.
"If you click on the video, you'll actually hear the anchor say, 'Finally, I have some very sad news,' before the clip freezes and is replaced by the words' Share to Uncover This Video.' Clicking on those words opens up a pop-up window that allows you to share a link to the article on Facebook," Politifact investigated.
Meanwhile, in 2014, Snopes reported the first time Diesel became a victim of such bogus stories. The spam posts that year included "RIP Vin Diesel." Those netizens who tactlessly clicked on those articles suffered from a virus that infected their contacts.
Hoaxers always pick the best and biigest names as their victim. Even Diesel's friend, Dwayne Johnson, got his own celebrity death hoax, which started on Twitter and Facebook in late 2019.
The headline reads, "BBC: Dwayne The Rock Johnson Dies at 47 after a terrible stunt attempted failed." The link in the screenshot, however, shows NEWS.LIVEBR0DCAST.COM though the headline states that BBC reportedly penned the article.
Although Johnson wasn't bothered by the most recent hoax, he did debunk a death hoax in 2011 on Facebook. In 2014, a similar trick reported that the actor died while filming a stunt for "Fast and Furious 7."
