A tweet from an account posing as U.S. publisher Alfred A. Knopf falsely claimed iconic novelist Cormac McCarthy had died Tuesday, spawning a death hoax that spread through social media. “URGENT. Author Cormac McCarthy dies for stroke at 82,” user @AKnopfNews wrote. The poor English in the tweet should have given away its falsity, but alas, major publications like USA Today picked up the “news” without verifying it until afterward. The author’s publicist confirmed he is alive and well; and the rogue Twitter account admitted the same: “This account is hoax created by Italian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti. McCarthy is alive and well.”
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