14 DAY TRIAL // No celebrity is safe from a fake death report, it would seem. Hours after Guns N’ Roses rocker / frontman Axl Rose was “found dead” at his home during a routine welfare checkup, the famous Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan is also pronounced dead.
Either fans are still too naïve to accept that yes, there are people out there who have no qualms about making money off a report of this kind, even though fake, or they’re too in shock to check for facts when they fall for hoaxes of this type.
But the bottom line is that many believed that Millan had died – and consequently rushed to social media to pass on their well-wishes to the family and their kind words.
Fake report gets an F for effort
News of Millan’s death was posted on Noticias UNAM, which must have used Google Translate for the text or simply didn’t care enough to try and make it more convincing. Riddled with grammatical errors and typos, the report at least included this, which probably sold fans onto it: a statement from Millan’s wife, Jahira Dar.
“I hope you can understand my lost, and I would appreciate if you can give us our space for our mourning [sic],” she was quoted as saying. This was obviously fake as well, but it was enough to convince fans that tragedy had indeed struck.
Apparently, Millan was rushed to the hospital yesterday morning, where he died of a “fulminate heart attack.” That part about the TV personality being hospitalized was the only accurate detail in the story, because he really was hospitalized. It wasn’t for anything life-threatening though.
The only “victims” here are the fans
Sometimes, these hoaxes produce at least some hilarity online, especially when celebrities like Axl or Macaulay Culkin decide to make fun of a morbid situation, with a tweet or a funny photo meant to prove that they’re still alive and well.
At worst, the celebrities don’t respond at all, which leaves fans on the edge of their seat for hours on end, especially when no rep for the publicist is available either.
In both cases, the only real victims are the fans, because they’re the ones clicking the story and / or feeling sorry for having lost an idol or a role model, or simply someone whose work they enjoyed, for whatever reason.
If you’re ever curious to scroll on Twitter or Facebook right after one of these hoaxes goes viral, you will see, besides the mean jokes and the now usual #RIP, messages from people who really take the “news,” fake as it is, to heart. These people don’t take the news lightly and they’re really affected by it.
From what we’ve seen online, the Dog Whisperer too has touched many people, who took the fake news of his death very badly. These fans should rest assured that he’s alive and well.
Millan would not comment on the hoax, but his dog, Junior Millan, had this to say on Facebook: “Reports of my Pack Leader's untimely demise are greatly exaggerated. I can happily report he is safe, happy and healthy. I can also tell you he kept me up all night snoring, my breakfast was a little late but I did get a great morning walk. As Cesar keeps telling me: Exercise. Discipline. Affection. - the key to a long, balanced, and healthy life!” So there.
