Fake News: Eminem NOT Dead at 45, NO Overdose

Fact Check

  • by: Maarten Schenk
Fake News: Eminem NOT Dead at 45, NO Overdose

Is iconic Detroit rapper Marshall Mathers dead from an overdose and was his body found in his Shelby Township home? Nope, that story came from a prank website and not from a real news outlet, it wasn't true.

It was published on Channel45News on or around February 24, 2018 under the title "Eminem Dead at 45 (possible overdose) - Channel 45 News" (archived here). The full prank read:

The famous and iconic Detroit rapper Marshall Mathers was found dead in his Shelby Twp. home last night at around 9:30 pm. Coroners report indicates a possible overdose of methamphetamine. More details are on the way as more reports come in.

The entire article would have looked something like this on social media:

Eminem Dead at 45 (possible overdose) - Channel 45 News

The famous and iconic Detroit rapper Marshall Mathers was found dead in his Shelby Twp. home last night at around 9:30 pm. Coroners report indicates a possible overdose of methamphetamine. More details are on the way as more reports come in.

We wrote about channel45news.com "pranks" before:

The site is part of a network of prank sites operated by Korry Scherer from Milwaukee, WI. according to WHOIS data. The site lets visitors create their own realistic looking fake news stories to prank friends and family.

pranked.jpg

The site seems to be part of a network of similar sites. So far we've found these, but there may be others:

  • channel22news.com
  • channel23news.com
  • channel24news.com
  • channel28news.com
  • channel33news.com
  • channel34news.com
  • channel40news.com
  • channel45news.com
  • channel46news.com

The sites all come with disclaimers at the bottom of each prank:

We do NOT support FAKE NEWS!!! This is a Prank website that is intended for Fun. Bullying, Violent Threats or posts that Violate Public Order are NOT permitted on this Website.

Want to inform others about the accuracy of this story?

See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends...) and leave the link in the comments.:


  Maarten Schenk

Lead Stories co-founder Maarten Schenk is our resident expert on fake news and hoax websites. He likes to go beyond just debunking trending fake news stories and is endlessly fascinated by the dazzling variety of psychological and technical tricks used by the people and networks who intentionally spread made-up things on the internet.  He can often be found at conferences and events about fake news, disinformation and fact checking when he is not in his office in Belgium monitoring and tracking the latest fake article to go viral.

Read more about or contact Maarten Schenk

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