14 DAY TRIAL // The Internet just killed Hugh Hefner, aka The Hef, the media mogul and founder of men’s publication Playboy, who made glamor modeling into a genuine industry, and turned himself into an icon. Apparently, he died of natural causes at his home, even though he seemed in perfect health just days before.
This is just a hoax, fortunately: Hefner is not dead – or if he is, he has a very strange way of haunting us because he’s still tweeting, and apparently, can even catch a movie at his house, with his family. Ghosts these days!
Fake news website tricks fans
The story of Hefner’s death can be traced back to a website that has killed celebrities before, Macaulay Culkin more recently. It is meant to be a ripoff of the official NBC website, but obviously has nothing in common with it except the name and some imagery.
It uses these visual cues to trick users into thinking they’re visiting the actual NBC Today site, so they won’t even stop to question when they read the shocking news of a star’s passing.
To add even more credence to their fake story, they also employ in the text “quotes” from investigators and police spokespersons. Useless to say, they’re all made up, just like the report of the death.
For Hefner’s “death,” the website cites an LAPD officer named Jimmy N. Gardner, who confirms the identity of the deceased, saying, “We'll have to wait for an autopsy report for an official cause of death. From what I have heard Mr. Hefner was in good health for an 88 year old man. With no signs of foul-play we are left to believe his death was of natural causes.”
The rest of the report is worded in just as convincing a manner, so no wonder thousands of people fell for the hoax and even shared to their friends on social media, Facebook and Twitter.
Hefner is not dead but he is slightly amused
Indeed, Hefner is in good health: he’s still in charge of business, spends time with his girls and his wife, and even finds the time to keep up with the advances in our modern world, so he was quick to respond on Twitter to the report of his shocking passing.
He is amused by how weird the Internet is and how gullible some people can be, since shortly after the “news” broke that he had died, he was announcing plans for the family movie night at the Mansion on Twitter. They screened “American Sniper” with Bradley Cooper, from director Clint Eastwood, in case you’re wondering.
So remember, next time you hear of some star’s passing, make sure to check if the source is reliable. Or look for that celebrity on Twitter.
I Googled @hughhefner and it said he died but still made it to movie night. Lol. The internet is an odd place sometimes.
— Domineek Ellington (@thatdudedneek) December 29, 2014
Movie night with the family pic.twitter.com/65QaTvJDNL
— Crystal Hefner (@crystalhefner) December 29, 2014