HOAX - 'John Farnham Found Unresponsive At Thailand Hotel'
According to a story currently circulating vigorously via social media, iconic Australian entertainer John Farnham has been found unresponsive at a Thailand hotel and has been rushed to a hospital. The, supposedly 'still developing', story claims that the star's current condition is unknown.
However, the claims in the story are false. John Farnham is not ill and has not been taken to hospital. A Sydney Morning Herald article about the hoax story notes:
But rest assured Australia, Farnsy is doing fine.
In fact, according to longtime manager and friend Glenn Wheatley, "he's never been in better health".
In fact, the story is a poor taste prank created via a website called FakeAWish.com. The site allows pranksters to enter the name of a celebrity, enter some other details, and then click a 'Start' button to generate a fake news story. During the process, the prankster can choose from one of several fake news templates. The 'found unresponsive at a Thailand hotel' is just one of the templates available. Others create a fake story claiming that the targeted celebrity has been attacked by sharks, been injured in a car accident or other mishap, or unexpectedly retired.
Once the fake news report has been generated, the prankster can then share it via social media.
A disclaimer at the bottom of the fake stories notes:
this is an entertainment website. This site has been providing smiles to millions of people since 1999 and is loved by countless celebrities who have a great sense of humor. This is a totally fake article based on zero truth and is a complete work of fiction for entertainment purposes! (FAKE... THIS STORY IS 100% FAKE!)
But, despite the disclaimer, many readers apparently believe that the stories are true and share them via there own social media feeds. A lot of readers will not scroll down far enough to see the disclaimer. Many more will simply pass on the message without even clicking the link and visiting the prank website.
It is thus a good idea to verify any celebrity death, injury, or illness stories that come your way via social media before you share them. Some, like the John Farnham version discussed here, are just poor-taste pranks. Others are rumours derived from misunderstandings or misinterpreted celebrity news stories. Still others are more sinister and are designed to trick people into visiting websites containing malware or participating in bogus online surveys.
A quick search via an online news portal such as Google News is usually enough to reveal if a circulating celebrity story is true.
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John Farnham Found Unresponsive At Thailand Hotel After Consuming... | MUSIC NEWS
THIS STORY IS STILL DEVELOPING...
Baltimore July 8, 2015 30 minutes ago...
John Farnham is reported to have been rushed to a Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand hospital after being found unresponsive at the Phi Koh Pucket Resort Hotel.
Last updated: July 8, 2015
First published: July 8, 2015
By Brett M. Christensen
References
John Farnham Found Unresponsive At Thailand Hotel After Consuming...
John Farnham Thailand collapse hoax puzzles manager: Farnsy's in 'rude health'
Don't Get Caught by Celebrity Death Hoaxes and Scams
Death Hoaxes - Celebrity Death Rumours
