According to a message going viral via social media, iconic US actor Sylvester Stallone has died.
The message features an image of the star with the caption “R I P Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone” (1946 – 2018)”. It claims that Sylvester Stallone died of prostate cancer after keeping his illness a secret for a time.
To drive home the point, the message includes two photographs of Sylvester in which he looks tired, dishevelled and unwell.
However, the claims in the message are false. Sylvester Stallone is alive and well.
The star confirmed this himself via Twitter, noting:
Please ignore this stupidity… Alive and well and happy and healthy… Still punching! https://t.co/sgRhOguHhs
— Sylvester Stallone (@TheSlyStallone) February 19, 2018
The images in the hoax message are in fact on set photographs from a movie in which Sylvester actually plays an ageing boxer with cancer. Hence the star’s sickly appearance thanks to the magic of the movies.
This is not the first time that Sylvester Stallone has been the target of a death hoax. A hoax that went viral back in 2016 falsely claimed the star had died of a prescription drug overdose. That version contained links to a scam website.
Celebrities are often the target of such death hoaxes. Always verify any message claiming that a celebrity has died via a reputable news outlet before clicking or sharing.
Of course, if a famous person does die, then the story is always covered by news outlets around the world. So a quick search of a news aggregator such as Google News will usually reveal if a circulating celebrity death message is true.
An example of the hoax:
SO LONG CHAMP
Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone died early this morning after his battle with prostate cancer, the actor kept his illness a secret, but in the end he couldn’t beat it.
Original Source : https://www.hoax-slayer.net/sylvester-stallone-death-hoax-circulating-sylvester-not-dead/