On the evening of October 25, Beijing time, the entry "Tyson died" accidentally appeared on the Weibo hot search list, and exposed a picture suspected of Tyson lying on the hospital bed, but Tyson's agent and himself quickly issued an article to refute the rumors. Upstream news reporters noticed that the fake news came from a foreign website that often spread rumors about the death of celebrities. Not only are fake news of celebrities "dying" often reported abroad, but similar incidents have also occurred in China, and legal experts have also reminded that the mainland has relevant regulations on those who publish rumors from civil to criminal, and malicious dissemination will be severely punished by law.
On the night the rumors spread, Tyson also posted a message thanking his mentor
On the 25th, a screenshot of a foreign platform circulated on the Internet, proudly writing "Tyson died in the hospital 10 minutes ago, goodbye legend", some Weibo bloggers then posted the news of Tyson's death on social media, and also said that all the way is good.
The picture shows an elderly black man lying on a hospital bed, wearing an oxygen mask and intubation. But on closer inspection, the old man did not have Tyson's nose bridge, eyebrows, tattoos and other facial features.
Tyson's agent then came forward to refute the rumors, saying: "The news of the death of boxing champion Tyson spread quickly and attracted the attention of fans around the world, but the October 2022 report was confirmed to be completely fake news, the latest in a series of fabricated reports of celebrity deaths, and thankfully, the former heavyweight champion is still alive and in good health." ”
Interestingly, on the night the rumors spread, Tyson himself updated social media, not only did not see anything out of the ordinary, but also wrote to thank his mentor: "Each of us has to try to do something, of course it may only be a lesson, but the biggest impact on my life is the knowledge that my mentor imparted to me." Without Cuz D'Amato, there would be no conversation today ... What he taught me changed my life and put me on the path to success. To this day, I still do what he taught. ”
Many fans also left messages in the comment area to pay tribute to the legend, and some Chinese netizens came to mourn, which also surprised foreign netizens, because foreign news websites did not have relevant reports.
Tyson's agent said that some spam websites have been creating such fake news of celebrity deaths to attract attention, and rumors about "Tyson's death" come from such a foreign website that "opens with a picture and relies on editing" - C93news.
Previously, it was reported that 56-year-old Tyson was on wheelchair crutches, and his physical condition was indeed not very good, but he has recently begun to recover from sexual training and participated in a series of exhibition matches, his health is still very good, and he recently appeared on the scene of a UFC match.
There are stars in the Chinese and foreign entertainment circles who have been "died" by rumors
In the foreign entertainment industry, many familiar stars such as Tom Cruise, Justin Bieber, Avril, Celine Dion, Schwarzenegger, "The Rock" Johnson, etc. have been choreographed by bad websites to "death news".
Rowan Atkinson, the well-known actor of "Mr. Bean", also often saw rumors that he was "killed", so much so that when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, many Chinese expressed shock, Mr. Bean "How is he still alive?" ”
In a variety show in China, Rowan Atkinson also expressed his frustration that this was the ultimate online violence, but in the end he joked, "I'm very sorry to disappoint those who expected my death."
The same is true in China, Stephen Chow, Liu Xiaoqing, Zhao Benshan, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, etc. have all encountered such rumors, and Mr. Jin Yong was "deceased" more than 20 times before his death, which can be said to be a "professional household that has been deceased".
Zheng Zeshi, a famous actor "fat cat" in Hong Kong, China, is about to "die" every three to five, and he himself ridiculed the rumors of death that have been circulating for many years on the "Spit Conference": "I came up from Hong Kong, not from below (Hades)." ”
Because of the high attention of celebrities, many self-media, under the temptation of huge interests and zero costs, use some long-dormant stars to create "death" fake news to get clicks, and have tried repeatedly. So, will spreading rumors by any means for the sake of profit be punished by law?
Legal experts say the mainland has relevant regulations for those who publish rumors, from civil to criminal. For example, in terms of civil liability, according to the Civil Code, those who spread rumors will be investigated for tort liability, and bear the obligation to eliminate the impact and compensate the deceased person and relatives for losses; In terms of administrative liability, if the spread of rumors disturbs public order or defames others, although it does not constitute a crime, it is also subject to administrative punishments such as detention and fines according to the Public Security Administration Punishment Law; From the perspective of criminal offenses, if the publisher is very malicious and widely disseminated, it involves the crime of insult and defamation.
Upstream news reporter Tang Hao
Editor: Jin Xin
Editor-in-charge: Liao Lei
Reviewed: Feng Fei