Fake death reports are all the rage lately on social media.
@OfficialSkyNews, a fake Twitter account, created an international uproar Tuesday by tweeting ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died.
That rumor, like many celebrity death reports on social media, turned out to be false.
From Demi Moore to North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un, public figures everywhere risk virtual assassination.
Kim Jong-un
Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site similar to Twitter, first "broke" the news that North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un had died, The International Business Times reported in February.
The rumor mill began churning when a man who works near the North Korean embassy in Beijing posted a concerned message on Weibo.
"Downstairs from the office, the cars at the Korean embassy are increasing rapidly, now there are over 30 cars. It's the first time I've seen this situation, did something happen in Korea?" he wrote, according to The Daily Mail.
News organizations weren't able to verify the rumor given North Korea's insular attitude, but the U.S. government ultimately shot it down.
Demi Moore
After she was hospitalized for reportedly inhaling nitrous oxide, "RIP Demi Moore" began circulating on Twitter, The International Business Times reported in January.
Gossip Cop struck down the rumor at the time, calling it "100% false."
Charlie Sheen
The former "Two And A Half Men" star has been the subject of multiple death hoaxes throughout the years.
A group called "Global Associated News" claimed Sheen died in December 2011 in a freak snowboarding accident, The Christian Post reported at the time. It appears "Global Associated News" is still trying to push that "developing" story.
In July 2011, Twitter was flooded with rumors the oft-troubled star had died of heart attack, the BBC reported in February.
But Sheen laughed the whole thing off, tweeting "Warlock: long nap...very much alive."
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