Rue McClanahan, co-star of the successful 1980s sitcom "Golden Girls," died in 2010, but her death is being relived on social media in a hoax that went viral starting last week. The same hoax surfaced about this time last year.
The Boston Globe reported that word of McClanahan's death was populating Twitter and Facebook feeds, along with condolences and tribute from fans who didn't realize the award-winning actress died at 76 five years ago from a brain hemorrhage.
"Like a game of telephone, it's easy to speculate where things went awry: Fans of the actress shared McClanahan's 2010 obituary to mark the June 3 anniversary of her death; Retweeters clipped the original message, inadvertently leaving out the 'anniversary' identifier – or simply failing to check the obituary's date; and unsuspecting Internet users, quick to share their grief, ensured the posts went viral," wrote Eryn Carlson of the Boston Globe.
Time magazine reported there were a handful of people who fell for the ruse, intended or unintended.
Others, though, weren't fooled about McClanahan's repeat death notice.
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