In the age of social media, it has become difficult to address the issue of fake news. Every few days we have some messages, rumours circulated about various issues. Among the fake news formats are death rumours that keep coming on social media. Be it WhatsApp or Facebook, celebrity death hoaxes are also spread from time to time. These messages can be really damaging for the family members and fan-following on the celebrities which are uncared for. These death rumours can also act as a demotivating factor if the concerned person is ailing. This year even politicians were among the list of the death hoaxes. As the year comes to an end, let us look at the celebrities who had their death rumours circulating in the social media space in 2018.

Sonali Bendre: Actress Sonali Bendre has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment for the same. The Bollywood actress just returned back home from New York in the start of December and hopes to get better. But a major goof up by BJP MLA Ram Kadam sparked death rumours of the actress. He tweeted a picture of the actress, expressing condolences about her death. Although he clarified that it was a rumour, the reach of the social media was enough to make things worse.

Sylvester Stallone: Sylvester Stallone seems to be an unfortunate target of death hoaxes. The Rocky actor has his death rumours cropping up every once in a while. In February 2018, there were once again rumours that he passed away. Pictures and post were shared on Facebook expressing sadness about his demise.

Imran Khan: Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan had fake news about his death. To make things worse, there was a video being circulated that the former Pakistan cricket captain was shot dead by a few men. The video was circulated widely on social media which showed Khan bleeding profusely. But it was a fake video and it was expressed if the hoax was a political conspiracy, since Imran Khan was then campaigning for the 2018 General Elections.

Barbara Bush: Former US First Lady Barbara Bush was also a target of death hoax by a news website claiming to be CNN in April this year, the same month in which she actually passed away! The article claimed that she died while she was battling her illness. But Barbara Bush was very much alive and doing fine with her family, as informed by her granddaughter in a statement. And as luck or rather unfortune, Barbara Bush passed away at the age of 92 on April 17, 2018.

Mumtaz: Veteran actress Mumtaz fell prey to death hoax when certain journalist posted on Twitter about the actress died of cardiac arrest. Fans of the actress were upset about the news, but Mumtaz's daughter confirmed that the actress is doing all fine. The actress was in pretty fine health and relaxing in Rome at that time. Veteran Actress' Daughter Clarifies That She Is Perfectly Healthy and Holidaying in Rome.

Celebrity death hoaxes aren't new and somehow are kept churning time and again. In fact, some celebrities like Rowan Atkinson, Sylvester Stallone have been a target every few months. The use of social media proves distress in times like these, which goes on to spread the fake news of death even further. It is said time and again to check the authenticity of such reports, but the death of a famous person evokes certain emotions among the fans that they want to let everyone else know. One should always be careful about such fake messages and rumours involving famous celebrities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2018 02:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).