AMIDST increasing efforts by fact-checking organisations globally to empower the public with information resilience skills, hoaxes, particularly those of celebrity death, continue to spread on Meta’s Facebook.

The FactCheckHub investigates some accounts identified for spreading such hoaxes on the social media platform and examines how replacing the third-party fact-checking programme with community notes could further exacerbate this disinformation practice.

In January 2025, Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp announced the termination of its third-party fact-checking programme in the United States, shifting instead to a “Community Notes” system.

By early February 2025, Joel Kaplan, Mark Zuckerberg’s second in command at Meta, said that community notes will launch “elsewhere” in 2026, including the EU.

This policy change aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump‘s executive order aimed at “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” which restricts federal officials from actions that could tread upon free speech rights.

While these developments are positioned as efforts to improve freedom of expression, they raise concerns about the potential proliferation of disinformation campaigns, particularly celebrity death hoaxes on social media.

Meta’s transition to Community-based moderation

Meta’s Community Notes model draws inspiration from a similar feature on X (formerly Twitter). This approach empowers users to add contextual notes to posts they deem misleading, thereby decentralising content moderation.

Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, emphasised that this move aims to “allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse.” This policy change is expected to be implemented across its platforms globally by 2026.

However, the fears of many people remain how effective the community notes is in curbing the spread of misinformation and tackling disinformation online, drawing perspectives from the X-style model which is already in use.

Celebrity death hoaxes on Facebook

Meta platforms, particularly Facebook, have increasingly become the hotspots for spreading disinformation, especially fake deaths of celebrities and notable individuals. The FactCheckHub uncovered some accounts perpetrating this scheme. Such act has been carried out for a long time in some Facebook groups monitored.

In some of these groups, some of the posts contain false death narratives of celebrities and other notable personalities. Activities of these accounts appeared to be coordinated influence campaigns. For instance, a Facebook account, News US1, posted a fake death of Mike Tyson after the retired heavyweight champion attended the inauguration of Donald Trump with Jake Paul in January 2025. This was earlier debunked by The FactCheckHub.

Despite the verification, many Facebook accounts continued to share the fake Tyson’s death in February 2025. For instance, news NNC, posted the same claim on February 1, 2025. It was shared by 21 other users though it has few reactions and comments. Also, another Facebook user, Ben, posted the same claim on February 12, 2025. It garnered over 390 shares, plus 67 shares and 20 likes as of February 15, 2025.

Notably, the same claim was also shared in groups like video fee, US1, UN SOS2025 and Bringnow, among others. All these claims were shared in similar manner, with the same images and captions.

Our fact-checker observed that Mike Tyson made a post on Facebook on February 11, 2025, the same platform where disinformation about his death was being spread. He posted a picture of himself with some kids putting on boxing gloves with a quote that reads: “It’s all about the next generation of fighters, I’m heavily invested in their future’”.

Justin Bieber is one of the celebrities affected by such hoaxes. Another social media user Rrong Rong posted the claim about Bieber’s death on February 7, 2025 in a Facebook group with no fewer than 59,000 members.

Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE as Justin Bieber is alive. He posted some photos showing him and his girlfriend on Instagram on February 14, 2025 to mark Valentine’s Day – days after his death was announced on Facebook.

Rumours about his death have circulated multiple times on social media previously, most times stemming from hoaxes. For instance, false media reports that he had died in March 2023, was debunked by Snopes.

Similarly, rumours about his death in a car crash in September 2024 were found to be FALSE, according to Fact Crescendo.

Another celebrity affected by these hoaxes is Simon Cowell, a British television producer, talent show judge, and music executive known for creating and judging hit shows such as American Idol, The X Factor, and Britain’s Got Talent e.t.c. The same Facebook account posted the false death of the TV host which gained traction online.

Findings by The FactCheckHub revealed that the claim is FALSE. As of February 19, 2025, Simon Cowell is alive and actively involved in his professional commitments. He posted a video on Instagram to announce the resumption of the ‘Britain Got Talent’ show, an audition show where he acted as one of the judges.

Recently, during the one of the audition, Cowell experienced a near-miss incident where a blindfolded performer, attempting to smash watermelons with a mallet around him, lost grip, leading to intervention by the crew to ensure his safety. This event left Cowell visibly shaken but unharmed as reported by Standard UK.

Celine Dion is another celebrity whose alleged death went viral on Facebook. A Facebook user named ajanimanlking posted a video reel on February 8, 2025 announcing the death of the popular R & B musician. But findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

Recall that Dion has been the subject of multiple death hoaxes over the years. Notably, in November 2013, false reports claimed she had died in a car or plane crash, which she promptly refuted as reported here.

Recently in 2023, misleading information circulated widely, often rehashing old health news to falsely alleged her demise, but it was debunked by Snopes.

On February 14, 2025, the musician however announced her upcoming album billed to be released in April 2025 via her official Facebook page. This corroborates her living status.

Similarly, Snopes had earlier debunked false claims that American rapper and actor, Jaden Smith, and British actor Rowan Atkinson had died. Also recall that in August 2023, Lil Tay’s Instagram account was hacked, leading to a post that falsely reported the teen rapper’s death, Meta confirmed. These are but few among other celebrity death hoaxes that went viral on the Meta platform while some have made it to the mainstream media, a Poynter report observed.

Meta could not be reached for official comments as at the time of filing this report, but we will update this report if we receive any response from the social media platform.

Potential risks of increased disinformation — Experts

The reliance on community-driven moderation raises concerns about the spread of false information, including premature or false reports of individuals’ deaths. Without professional fact-checkers, the responsibility falls on the user base, which may lack the expertise to accurately assess and debunk such claims. This could lead to the rapid dissemination of unverified or false information, causing unnecessary distress and confusion among members of the public, experts said.

Speaking with The FactCheckHub, Cole Praise, a fact-checker with Dubawa, emphasised the effectiveness of Facebook’s third-party fact-checking system when compared to X’s (formerly Twitter) Community Notes.

Praise argued that Facebook’s approach, which relies on users to police content, is ineffective because most users prioritize engagement over accuracy. He noted that misinformation spreads easily on Facebook since users are not conscious of verifying content before sharing.

“Fact-checkers were doing a great job serving as watchdogs to make sure that whatever content is passed is actually authentic. But now that it’s been erased by 2026 globally, I really do not see the situation getting any better. I think it will just get worse,” said Praise.

From Praise’s experience as a fact-checker, removing professional fact-checkers from Meta platforms will only worsen the spread of disinformation. He noted that for every claim verified, a misleading Facebook version often exists, which is rarely flagged as false. Instead, users like, share, and comment without questioning its accuracy. He emphasised that Facebook has not yet reached a stage where user-driven content moderation can replace dedicated fact-checkers and urges the platform to reinstate them for better content verification.

Kunle Adebajo, an editor with the African Academy for Open Source Investigation, highlighted both the strengths and weaknesses of the community notes model adopted by platforms like X.

“While community fact-checking decentralises the verification process and allows users to flag claims that may escape journalists, it also has serious limitations,” Adebajo explained.

“Many contributions lack professional rigor, are sometimes biased, or prioritise humour over accuracy. This is particularly concerning for misinformation in local languages, where professional newsrooms with linguistic expertise play a crucial role in verification,” he said.

He emphasised the need for a hybrid approach, combining professional fact-checking with community notes, while urging tech companies to collaborate closely with journalists to curb the spread of harmful misinformation.

Adebajo emphasised that many cases of misinformation are not driven by a deliberate intent to harm but by the pursuit of engagement through clickbait tactics.

“Social media algorithms often prioritise tragic or shocking news, such as the death of celebrities, because these stories attract more interactions,” he explained. This increased engagement helps pages gain followers, which can then be leveraged for website traffic or commercial gain.

Adebajo stressed that while journalists play a vital role in countering such misinformation, they cannot do it alone. He called for stronger collaboration between newsrooms and social media platforms through initiatives like third-party fact-checking programme, among others. These programmes, he noted, not only enable the hiring of full-time fact-checkers but also equip journalists with better verification skills.

“Tech companies should go beyond limiting the reach of false claims by imposing large-scale sanctions on those who repeatedly spread misleading information, especially when it involves coordinated networks of pages,” Adebajo opined.

Also speaking with The FactCheckHub, Ebunoluwa Olafusi, the Fact-check Editor at TheCable, describes Meta’s ending of its third-party fact-checking programme as a setback in the fight against misinformation on social media. With platforms like Facebook serving as primary news sources for many, she warns that distinguishing between true and false information will become more challenging. This change, she argued, could lead to an increase in misinformation, making it harder for users to verify facts.

She also highlighted the influence of social media influencers, whose followers often accept their content without questioning. In cases where influencers share false claims—such as fake death reports — users may spread disinformation before corrections appear.

Olafusi raised concerns about the reliability of Community Notes, especially when users fail to engage with fact-checking efforts or add biased interpretations that align with their views, echo chamber or confirmation bias.

The shift from structured fact-checking to community-based moderation, coupled with federal directives limiting government’s intervention in content moderation, creates an environment where misinformation and disinformation can thrive, she added.

False reports of individuals’ deaths are particularly disturbing, as they can spread rapidly and cause significant harm to the individuals or families involved. Social media platforms must find a balance between promoting free speech and implementing effective measures to prevent the spread of disinformation, analysts say.

This report was republished from The FactCheckHub