Fact Check

Lil Wayne Death Hoax

A false rumor about the American rapper and songwriter tricked Facebook users into enabling a rogue app.

Published Dec. 19, 2013

 (Wikimedia Commons)
Image Via Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
Lil Wayne has died after a seizure.

In December 2013, Facebook users began seeing posts purportedly issued by media outlets teasing the story that rapper Lil Wayne (who is an epileptic) had died after a seizure, featuring headlines such as "RIP Lil Wayne, Rapper Found Dead" and offering links to a video report on the subject.

No such tragic fate has befallen the popular singer, however. Not only are the accounts of his death a hoax, but those reports are being spread by a malicious Facebook app. When users are tricked into clicking through on these fake "R.I.P Lil Wayne" posts to see the promised news videos, they end up installing a rogue app that posts the same very thing to other Facebook pages in their name.

Facebook's Desktop Help section provides users with instructions they can follow to remove unwanted apps from their accounts.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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