Is Cher Dead? Nope, the Rumors Spread Through MTVNevvs Twitter Hoax

Cher, a singer who has managed to stay alive in the world of pop music for the last 30-plus years, was rumored to have died over night, Sunday into Monday.

A fake MTV News Twitter account sent out the buzz Monday morning shortly before 2 a.m., making an immediate dent across the web.

The rumor spread quickly as fans spread the word and responded to this tweet:

Music Legend Cher found dead in her Malibu Home at the age of 66, Rip Cher, more details at MTV.com

— MTV News (@mtvnevvs) January 7, 2013

The hoax account was able to pass off the con because of how it spells its name: @mtvnevvs, using to lowercase v’s to pass off a w, as opposed to the real @mtvnews.

The fake account has only 265 followers and has made only one other tweet that alleges recording artist Nicki Minaj has AIDS.

Incredibly, such a small account gained enough traction that even Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Christine Teigen fell victim to the ruse. But, she didn’t want to wake her fiancé, recording artist John Legend, a second time to reveal she’d discovered the announcement was fake:

I woke john up to tell him Cher is dead. He got sad but then went back to bed. Don't want to wake him again so just roll with it in the AM.

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 7, 2013

Some fans cracked jokes:

Cher's dead again? Oh ok.

— - A (@andelj) January 7, 2013

Others had a tougher time dealing with the news:

woke up thinking that cher was dead it was very upsetting #believe

— Deborah Hodgson (@deborah27x) January 7, 2013

Ppl need to get help. Its nothing ever funny about joking about a persons death. Cher is NOT dead. Smh

— Real | The Writer (@RealTheWriter) January 7, 2013

MY FRIEND TWEETED SOMETHING ABOUT CHER DYING AND I FREAKED SO BADLY. MY TUMMY HURT AND I HAD KNOTS IN MY THROAT. SHE'S NOT DEAD THOUGH.

— Jean Nicolas (@Nicsh) January 7, 2013

And one user emphasized the 66-year-old singer’s legacy:

if twitter thinks it can convince me that Cher is dead it is dead wrong. Cher will never dieeeeee

— sarah ostrander (@saraheostrander) January 7, 2013