Published Tuesday, December 20, 2011 By amanda_caines. Under Editor : Amanda Caines, News, Uncategorized, Writer: Amanda Caines Tags: Dead or Alive, Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey, Jon Bon Jovi
What do bored, unimportant people do with their spare time? They blog and tweet about celebrities, regardless of the truth of their claims.
Earlier today, some idiot with a wordpress account created a phony press release that proclaimed “International Rockstar Legend Jon Bon Jovi: Dead at 49!” which was subsequently tweeted and re-tweeted ad nauseam, creating a viral rumor mill of complete crap.
Really, y’all?
The bogus press release has been debunked by a variety of more-credible sources, and even before Bon Jovi’s camp made an official statement, a representative for the “international rockstar legend” has told inquiring (legitimate) news professionals that the claims are 100% false. The “official” proof that Jon Bon Jovi is still alive and well came from the Twitter of Bon Jovi’s photographer friend, David Bergman, with Bon Jovi standing in front of a Christmas tree holding a timestamped sign that says “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey.” (http://twitter.com/#!/davidbergman/status/148913842259365888/photo/1)
This brings about an interesting discussion on whose news is real and whose is fabricated. This “news report” lacks authenticity, with a variety of red flags lining its paragraphs. Here’s a short list to help you sniff out the bull.
1.) It is the ONLY WordPress entry for the blog. While many legitimate music news blogs are on WordPress due to its convenience and flexibility, if the page still has the placeholder text “Hello World!” at the top, it’s a sure sign of crap.
2.) Check the facts AND the sources. In this case, the source names don’t even match, not to mention that the “sources” were supposedly anonymous… yet the writer names the information sources, the Fire Captain Douglas Gray and someone named “Ruda.” Secondly, the paramedics would not have performed CPR if they’d determined he was in cardiac arrest; they would have used a defibrillator. Lastly, if there were “hundreds of reporters” at the scene, why the hell aren’t any credible news sources reporting about the death?
3.) Check for CONSISTENCY. Not only were the sources kinda iffy, but the first paragraph states that the singer was found in a coma in the Empress Hotel, whereas the second paragraph describes the 911 call as coming from “the home.” Yeah. Busted. I’m not even going to dignify the rest of the article with an appropriate bitch-pickin’ on all the details.
This is only the beginning, but if you catch a whiff of these three surefire smells of bull-dookie, you can be nearly certain that your “news source” has run afoul of reality. Remember, music fans: only YOU can prevent the spread of bogus crap on the internet.
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