LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Desmond Elliot is not dead. Desmond Elliot is the victim of a fake death report today stemming from a false Facebook image and post. On Friday September 14, 2012, someone wrote on Facebook that Elliot was dead. They posted what appeared to be a death picture. But then at the end of the post, they added a “qualifier” which read “And please don’t panic because its just a shot from the yet-to-be released Movie.”
Just days ago fans were asking if Morgan Freeman had died this September 2012. Now, Desmond Elliot joins Freeman and Bill Nye among the latest celebrities to be struck by fake death reports this month. Today’s tale derives from Facebook, once again. Fans, nevertheless, are irate.
Elliot is a Nigerian actor with more than two hundred credits to his name. But three hours ago, a Facebook account posted a picture of a man covered in blood. The text that went with the image read “BREAKING NEWS: Nigerian Actor Desmond Elliot found Motionless, drown in his blood in a Hotel in Nigeria”. The fake report claimed that Elliot had been murdered in a hotel room.
The false report later stated “Movie fans who first heard the news in Nigeria are in shaking feathers and Investigations are going-on of who might be behind his murder”. But at the bottom of the Facebook post, the author wrote”And please don’t panic because its just a shot from the yet-to-be released Movie”. Other websites, however, have since taken the body of the fake report, re-posted it to readers, but omitted the “please don’t panic” section.
Photo from the fake report
Desmond Elliot is the second victim of a fake Nigeria death report this week. Days ago, online reports falsely claimed that Patience Jonathan had died. She hasn’t died either. Rather, the First Lady had been suffering from what officials called a purported “severe bout” of food poisoning.
Since 2011, fans have learned that fake death reports don’t always begin in the U.S. In October, false overseas reports claimed that Sizzla Kalonji had died in a fake car crash.
“Witnesses have stated that Sizzla Kalonji’s car crossed the double lines several times prior to the accident and hit the center lane divider causing the vehicle to flip and roll” read the false death report at the time. Sizzla wasn’t in any crash at the time.
But unlike other celebrities, Sizzla at the time was not actively using social media. Hence the absence of comments by Sizzla on October 15 allowed the fake death story to confuse fans. The fake report would later resurface in spring 2012.
Nevertheless, Sizzla is not dead today, nor is Morgan Freeman. Bill Nye and Desmond Elliot are very much alive as are Miley Cyrus and Ryan Seacrest.
source: news.lalate.com
