Natalie Portman Not Dead Either [Bogus Internet Rumors]

It’s been a tough week for celebrities and their fans, as we’ve lost Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and Billy Mays. Last night, I noted on Twitter that “why is everyone dying” was actually a hot Google search term, as apparently the masses think perhaps it’s more than just a coincidence that so many famous people are passing away.

Unfortunately, that’s leading to a lot of false rumors going around, the latest of which involves actress Natalie Portman. The story claims that Portman fell from a cliff while filming a movie, plummeting to her death. Sound familiar? Yep, it’s the same story that supposedly claimed the lives of actors Jeff Goldblum and Harrison Ford on the same day that Michael Jackson died last week.

As it turns out, there’s actually one site responsible for all of these stories – fakeawish.com. The site lets you input the name of a celebrity, and then generates a fictitious story about their untimely demise. The news story actually somewhat resembles a Yahoo News page, which is perhaps why these stories get wings and spread.