Outline
Social media driven messages claim that much-loved actor Johnny Depp has died, either from drowning on a film set or in a car accident.
Brief Analysis
The claims are false. Johnny Depp is alive and well. This hoax is just one more in a long, sorry line of celebrity death hoaxes that have lately plagued social media sites. In fact, Johnny Depp has been the victim of several death hoaxes in recent years.
Examples
Detailed Analysis
According to various messages circulating via Twitter and Facebook, much loved and respected actor Johnny Depp has died. There are at least two versions of the story currently circulating. One claims that Depp died due to a drowning accident while filming on the set if his new blockbuster movie, The Lone Ranger. An alternative version claims that the star died in a car accident.
Thankfully, both stories are false. Johnny Depp is alive and well.
The “drowning” variant of the rumour may have been born of a real-life tragedy in which Mike Bridger, a crew member on the Lone Ranger set, died while cleaning a water tank in September 2012. This death was initially reported as a drowning, although later reports suggest that the crew member died of a heart attack.
The car accident version appears to be a born-again variant of an earlier Johnny Depp death hoax that circulated back in 2010. In fact, as with other high profile celebrities, Depp has been targeted in several death hoaxes in the last few years.
It is always a good idea to check the veracity of any celebrity death rumour that comes your way before your repost or forward it. If a celebrity really dies, the news is sure to be extensively reported by mainstream media outlets around the world. So, if true, reports about the demise of high profile individuals should be easily discoverable via news search sites such as Google News.
Moreover, users should avoid clicking links in such unsubstantiated celebrity death stories. Some such links may lead to malware or phishing sites, survey scams or other undesirable destinations.
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
