Vin Diesel Not Dead: ‘Fast & the Furious’ Star Is Alive

Vin Diesel, the star of the Fast & the Furious movie series, is not dead despite a Facebook post claiming the actor was killed during a car stunt in his backyard.

The fake news post includes the CNN logo. The post reads, “BREAKING NEWS | Hollywood Cries after Vin Diesel, Died In a FAIL STUNT on his Backyard. | TODAY, May 2020.” Included in the post is a video titled, “Actual Footage: VlN DlESEL CAR STUNT ACCIDENT.”

Death hoaxes are hugely common in the internet age. In March 2014, ABC News published a guideline for internet users in order to help them to avoid falling for death hoaxes. At that time, a common death hoax suggested that various celebrities, including Jeff Goldblum and The Rock had died after falling from some cliffs in New Zealand. The ABC article pointed out that readers should be eagle-eyed for “bait text.” “Bait text” is something that seems interesting but has been used multiple times in multiple other fake stories.

While a Washington Post article on the same topic encouraged users to stick to known websites and noted that, “Breaking news stories will usually include the reporter’s name; hoaxes, mysteriously, go un-bylined.”

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In 2014, The Week published a list of hoax sites. They included, Empire News, The National Report, Huzlers, Daily Currant and Free Wood Post. The website noted that occasionally news stories from satire sites such as The Onion and Clickhole are circulated as legitimate news. The Week article concludes simply that users should, “Take 30 seconds to determine whether something is real before you blast it out to hundreds of people. We’ll all have a better internet for it.” Buzzfeed’s Craig Silverman, a specialist in fake news, told DigiDay in 2012, “Fake news relies on viral sharing. If you think about why so many stars are subject to death hoaxes, they’ve been part of a pop culture that people have an emotional connection to. And that is at the core of what makes fake news work.”

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