Reliability of news on internet is a long-known issue: as online news moves really fast and often come from unknown sources, it’s difficult to check whether the story is true or false.
There has been a lot of false death reports published on twitter or facebook since these social networks are more and more popular. Natalie Portman, Britney Spears, George Clooney, or in France Jean-Marie le Pen have suffered the awkward moment when people called their families to pay homage to the dead.
Although, a quick view on wikipedia’s article about false death reports (article that might be discussed on its reliability) shows that many of these misunderstandings come from actual trusted big media like CNN or New York Times. Ernest Hemingway, Harold Pinter, Margaret Thatcher or George W. Bush were the victims of hoaxes, the oldest I could fine being Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet who read the news of his death in a newspaper, in 1816 !
Because these anouncements are sometimes a way to make fun of people, I recommend you this website where you can read the death of whoever you want.
Decrypting Enigma 