Neil Tennant is NOT Dead

Outline
Social media driven message claims that Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant has died in a car accident.



Brief Analysis
The message is a hoax. Neil Tennant is alive. This message is just one more in a long line of similar hoaxes that falsely claim that a celebrity or well-known person has died. Before passing on any message that claims that a famous person has died, it is always wise to check the claim via a reliable news source. Also be aware that links in some such death hoaxes lead to malware or survey scam websites.

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Last updated: January 14, 2013
First published: January 14, 2013
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Examples

Detailed Analysis
According to messages that are flying thick and fast via Facebook and the Twitterverse, Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant has been killed in a car accident. The rumours suggest that Neil Tennant was killed instantly in a single vehicle crash.

However, the claims in the message are untrue. Neil Tennant is alive and has not been involved in a car accident. Unfortunately Tennant is just another victim in a long series of similar celebrity death hoaxes.

Many of these false death rumours originate from several tasteless "prank" websites that allow users to create fake news stories detailing the supposed death of various celebrities. Users can generally pick from several "news" templates, add the name of their chosen celebrity and then attempt to fool their friends by sharing the bogus story. One such template is the "car accident" story used in this hoax. Other versions falsely claim that the targeted celebrity has died in a snow boarding accident or fell to his or her death from a cliff while filming in New Zealand.

Before passing on any message that claims that a famous - or infamous - person has died, it is always wise to check the story via a reputable news source. If a well-known person does die, the news is sure to be widely reported by the main-stream media, so a quick search of a news source such as Google News should quickly reveal if the claims in a message are true or false.

Users should also be aware that some of these false celebrity death messages may contain links that lead to survey scams or malware websites.




References
Pet Shop Boys
Celebrity Hoaxes
Adam Sandler is NOT Dead
Tom Hanks Death Hoax
Wrestling Star John Cena is NOT Dead

Last updated: January 14, 2013
First published: January 14, 2013
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer