If you're mourning the loss of Breakfast Club star Judd Nelson, put those tissues away — reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated.
Nelson is the latest celebrity to fall victim to one of the internet's most consistent and annoying hoaxes: the falsely reported death of a celebrity. On Sunday, a viral article reported that Nelson had been found dead in his condo in West Hollywood. The story has been shared more than 263,000 times on Facebook, despite Nelson's best efforts to quell the rumors — including a picture of himself reading Sunday's Los Angeles Times:
Remember, everyone: the internet is a strange and unreliable place. If you read that some famous person had suddenly died, take five seconds to Google their name and confirm the story before you share it on Facebook.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.