Mediamass website pronounces Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan dead, then alters story
Rumors of Depeche Mode’s frontman, Dave Gahan’s, untimely death started spreading on Monday. The news itself is one of the latest instance in an ongoing series of false celebrity death announcements. It was the Mediamass website which published a first article on it. But none of the sources they cite can be traced back or proven.
The site altered the article now as you can see below.
According to the site’s initial post the speculation surrounding the alleged death of the singer gained momentum on Monday and Tuesday when a Facebook page titled ‘R.I.P. Dave Gahan’ amassed nearly a million ‘likes’. The page’s ‘About’ section is said to have provided a seemingly credible narrative of the British singer’s supposed demise: “At about 11 a.m. ET on Monday (May 22, 2023), our beloved singer Dave Gahan passed away. Dave Gahan was born on May 9, 1962, in North Weald. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”
The Facebook page however doesn’t seem to have existed. Neither do the so-called tweets that would have been spread.
Still according to the site representatives for the singer formally confirmed that Dave Gahan is alive: “He is the latest addition to a growing list of celebrities who have been targeted by such hoaxes. He is alive and in good health, please refrain from believing everything you read on the internet.” And again there is no trace of this communication.
Mediamass describes itself as a satirical website, but let’s be honest, there is nothing satirical about the death of well known person.
The only conclusion we have is that Mediamass, whose website is plastered with Google Adsense adverts, has launched a pure clickbait campaign to attract visitors (and clicks). We are not putting a link to the website for this reason.
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