JAKARTA - The news of the death of the world's celebrities is back to take victims. This time, the last surviving member of the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb, was reported to have died, triggering mass panic among fans on social media throughout last weekend.
Responding to the rumor that had gone viral, the management and family of the 79-year-old musician immediately gave a firm clarification.
Based on a report from TMZ, a source close to the family confirmed that Barry Gibb is in good condition and is enjoying his old age in Florida, USA.
"Barry Gibb is in good health, happy, and living his life well at his home in the Miami area," said a family representative.
The hoax news started when a Facebook page titled 'R.I.P Barry Gibb' suddenly appeared and was immediately liked by almost a million users in a short time.
Although the page has now been deleted, the wave of disinformation has spread to other social media, even exacerbated by the spread of photos manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI).
For information, Barry Gibb is an important foundation in the history of world pop music with his two late brothers, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The three brothers successfully scored timeless hits such as "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", and "Too Much Heaven", which placed them as one of the musicians with the highest album sales of all time.
Currently, Barry is the only remaining core member after Maurice died in 2003 and Robin followed in 2012.
The phenomenon of hoaxing the death of the world's top celebrities is not new in the digital world. Before targeting Barry Gibb, other big names such as veteran actor Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, pop star Justin Bieber, and Michael J. Fox have also been victims of this disturbing manipulative trend.
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