CLAIM: An image shows a TMZ headline saying Madonna is “clinically brain dead.”
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. An image of the headline is fabricated, TMZ confirmed, and the pop superstar released a statement on Instagram this week saying she’s “on the road to recovery” after being hospitalized for a “serious bacterial infection.”
THE FACTS: The singer, who spent several days last month in an intensive care unit, posted a statement on Instagram Monday announcing that she is “getting stronger.”
That didn’t stop social media users from sharing the bogus headline that falsely suggested otherwise.
“THIS IS THE END MADONNA CLINICALLY BRAIN DEAD…With No Chance of Recovery,” reads the headline in the image, above a photo of Madonna in black and white. The layout is in the style of a TMZ story with the red “EXCLUSIVE” banner.
The fabricated image was shared on Instagram in recent days and has more than 9,000 likes as of Monday. The same headline was also shared on Twitter last week with more than 3,000 likes as of Monday.
But itis a hoax. TMZ has not published any such story and the image appears to be an edited screenshot of a real article about Madonna.
The timestamp on the image reads “6/29/2023 1:59 PM PT,” matching that of a real TMZ article from last month titled: “MADONNA STILL TOO SICK TO GET OUT OF BED... Opening Tour Dates Uncertain.” It also has the same photo, but the real article uses a color image.
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