Image courtesy of Stephen Lovekin/BEI/Shutterstock

By Malavika Pradeep

Published Nov 16, 2022 at 02:14 PM

Reading time: 2 minutes

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If there’s one television host that millennials and gen Zers collectively adore for bringing out the best in his guests, it’s American comedian and writer Jimmy Fallon. Evolving into a showbiz icon of the 21st century, the late-night talk show host has forged his own loyal following over the years called ‘falpals’.

For many stans, however, the dawn of 16 November 2022 came with the shocking news of the star’s sudden passing on Twitter, with #RIPJimmyFallon making its way onto everyone’s feeds. But is Fallon actually dead? Here’s everything you need to know about The Tonight Show star’s bouts with the radioactive, post-apocalyptic thunderstorm of a platform—aka Twitter.

Rumours of Fallon’s alleged demise first gained traction on the bird app when user @SolidusJJ tweeted the screenshot of an alleged post by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s official Twitter account. Announcing the death of the host with a black-and-white image of him with a dog, the tweet read: “It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of late-night legend, husband, and father of two, Jimmy Fallon. 1923-2022.”

To this, @SolidusJJ tweeted: “Wait what the fuck I thought it was just a gag lmao rip I guess.”

@SolidusJJ’s screenshot quickly went viral on the platform and many believed the announcement as it seemingly came from the late-night TV show’s official account. But if there’s one thing we know about users on the braindead app, it’s that they purposefully love to spread and digest misinformation—an antic only heightened by Technoking Elon Musk’s recent takeover.

Well, if the distorted black-and-white image didn’t give it away already, the screenshot was indeed edited and the details jotted were utterly wrong. First off, Fallon was not born in 1923, but in 1974—making him 48 years old. If one were to believe the year mentioned in the fake tweet, it would mean that Fallon would be 99 years old now.

Without sparing a thought, netizens quickly believed the fake tweet and flooded Twitter with tributes to the TV host. Only when it was fact-checked on the platform did it take a turn for the worse and evolve into a full-blown meme parade—with users posting pictures of other talk show hosts in a parody tribute format.

Heck, the trend also witnessed users expressing grief by uploading images of completely unrelated matters—throwing Fallon under the bus in the process:

Now, it’s time to return to reality. As of writing this article, Jimmy Fallon is alive and well. Shortly after #RIPJimmyFallon gripped Twitter, the host himself hit up “Chief Twit” Musk by stating: “Elon, can you fix this? #RIPJimmyFallon.” To this, Musk replied: “Fix what?” Are we surprised? Not in the least. Disappointed? Heck, yes.

Fallon’s representatives have also confirmed that the comedian is, in fact, alive. “Fallon joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimised by this hoax. He’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the internet,” the statement read.

While several celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, and Stranger Things’ Joe Keery have fallen victim to the hoax, the most recent debacle proves just how concerning a platform Twitter is slowly evolving into under Musk’s leadership.