Is this a familiar experience? You wake up. Check the internet and there's news of the passing of a much-loved celebrity. Then some time later after scrolling through screens of social media tributes you discover that person had actually died before... several times.
This week there have been waves of online sympathy over the passing of actor Leslie Nielsen prompting many to quote their favourite and most memorable lines from films such as Airplane! and The Naked Gun.
The only trouble is Nielsen actually died in November 2010 aged 84.
That didn't stop thousands of online users sharing this BBC story without checking the date and so it appeared that Nielsen had just died.
As a result the article popped up in the "Most Read" section which resulted in even more people sharing it. And the snowball rolled on gathering weight. Many people shared their own personal tributes on Twitter and then felt foolish when they discovered the truth.
Others were amused by the phenomenon.
Leslie Nielsen isn't the only celebrity who has experienced Multiple Death Syndrome, as we're calling it.
mo
Why is Leslie Nielsen STILL dead? - BBC News
This week there have been waves of online sympathy over the passing of actor Leslie Nielsen prompting many to quote their favourite and most memorable lines from films such as Airplane! and The Naked Gun.
The only trouble is Nielsen actually died in November 2010 aged 84.
That didn't stop thousands of online users sharing this BBC story without checking the date and so it appeared that Nielsen had just died.
As a result the article popped up in the "Most Read" section which resulted in even more people sharing it. And the snowball rolled on gathering weight. Many people shared their own personal tributes on Twitter and then felt foolish when they discovered the truth.
Others were amused by the phenomenon.
Leslie Nielsen isn't the only celebrity who has experienced Multiple Death Syndrome, as we're calling it.
mo
Why is Leslie Nielsen STILL dead? - BBC News