Add legendary Columbian author Gabriel García Márquez to the list of celebrities to have fallen on the false blade of Twitter. According to The Guardian, Twitter flooded with misinformation of the author’s death after an account allegedly belonging to Italian author Umberto Eco, @UmbertoEcoOffic, posted the following.
GABRIEL GARCIA MÀRQUEZ È MORTO. RICEVO ORA LA NOTIZIA. INUTILE OGNI COMMENTO
Once more, in English.
GABRIEL GARCIA MÀRQUEZ DIES. I RECEIVED THE NEWS NOW FROM NEW YORK.
As if that wasn’t enough to light the kindling, “Eco” posted a couple of more times.
The death of Gabriel Garcìa Màrquez has been confirmed by his sister Aida.
The news of the death of Garcia Márquez will be officially announced by the sister Aida and by publishers in few hours.
GABRIEL GARCIA MÀRQUEZ HA MUERTO. SU FAMILIA Y MARIO VARGAS LLOSA ME CONFIRMAN LA NOTICIA. Umberto Eco
That last one translates as “GABRIEL GARCIA MÀRQUEZ HAS DIED. HIS FAMILY AND MARIO VARGAS LLOSA [another South American author] CONFIRMED THE NEWS TO ME.”
The account alleged to be Umberto Eco isn’t a verified account and has less than 2,000 followers, which, for the man who penned Foucault’s Pendulum and The Name of the Rose, is a bit unbelievable.
A Twitter account appearing to be an authentic Garcia Marquez, @ElGabo, although not verified, replied with the following tweet:
@UmbertoEcoOffic? Una cuenta falsa
¿Y si decimos que murióTranslation: “And if we say he died @UmbertoEcoOffic? It’s a false account.”
Regardless of the Twitter flare-up, García Márquez is alive and well as was confirmed by two separate sources close to the author. The Twitterati, along with the rest of the world, tweeted their relief that García Márquez was still among the living.
Rumors about the death of Scott Baio by diaper filled with angry wasps are funny. Rumors about the death of Gabriel Garcia Marquez are not.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is ALIVE. Reports of his death are based on hoax.
Don’t be upset about Twitter circulating rumors of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s demise – this is exactly how magical realism works.
Gabriel García Márquez está en perfectas condiciones. Aprovecho para mandarle un abrazo.
I meant to write you about the FALSE rumour on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s death, but I know he’d understand I am busy with Palestine 🙂
Now that García Márquez has survived his first Twitter death hoax, he joins an illustrious gallery of celebrities that have also undergone the weird death-and-resurrection phenomenon that never fails to attack the gullible micro-bloggers on the site. Other members of this exclusive club include Eddie Murphy, Fidel Castro, Justin Bieber, Usher, Jon Bon Jovi, and Soulja Boy.
Reviewing this list, why is that Twitter always false-kills guys?