The Internet is a fantastic resource for finding information and staying up-to-date with the latest news. But it is often unreliable, and the easiest way to figure this out is by looking at celebrities’ lives. In the world of fake news, Tom Holland is dead, and Taylor Swift is pregnant. Unfortunately, this distorted reality harms celebrities, including mental health issues and reputational damage.
Fake news has just one purpose: to deceive readers into believing that a piece of information is accurate – and while sometimes it is solely used as clickbait, other times it is created to harm the subject intentionally. To make matters worse, it spreads like wildfire on social media platforms. ExpressVPN highlights that many celebrities, including Selena Gomez and Leonardo DiCaprio, have been exposed to fake news posts.
Tom Brady
The Super Bowl LV’s winner, Tom Brady, ranks first among the celebrities who were the subject of fake news in the previous year. More specifically, the information reached 72,444,290 people over ten months. Considering the tumult of gossip surrounding the football star, this doesn’t come as a shock. After Brady announced that he divorced Gisele Bundchen, many rumors claimed that he would retire from the game. But fake news followed Tom like his shadow, misleading readers into believing he invested significantly in FTX – the crypto company that collapsed recently.
Joe Rogan
The comedian Joe Rogan is famous for his UFC commentating and podcast – The Joe Rogan Experience-, which takes the form of long conversations with guests, including musicians, authors, and even MMA fighters. Findings illustrate 39,276,532 people saw mentions of fake news about Rogan in 2022, and these swirling untruths have a lot to do with the controversial figures the comedian invites onto his podcast. Another reason is that he uses colorful language during recordings, which has led to the removal of many episodes from Spotify.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is ranked third on the list of celebrities associated with fake news. But the CEO of Tesla is no stranger to controversy, and he is known for not having the best relationship with the truth himself. 26,660,800 people saw Musk’s name mentioned in conjunction with fake news. Still, these numbers likely don’t surprise anyone, considering that Musk has taken a maniacal approach as a self-proclaimed chief twit.
Tom Holland
Over the years, Tom Holland has been the subject of fake news several times. In fact, Holland ranks highest among actors and is the only British person to appear on the list. But the actor doesn’t take any pride in this ‘achievement’. Famous for playing Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Holland’s name has been associated with many rumors.
For instance, in 2017, different online posts mentioned that the actor was fired from the Spider-Man franchise, which raised concern among fans. However, the actor debunked the rumor, confirming that he would still play the role. Three years later, another rumor claimed that Holland would be the main lead in the live-action adaptation of Death Note, which also proved inaccurate.
Kanye West
It’s no wonder why Kanye West takes fifth place on this list. The rapper faced considerable criticism in the past due to his antisemitic comments. West repeatedly showed troubling behavior, from criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement to ending business relationships. He also voiced conspiracy theories in many instances, so it’s easy to understand why fake news threatens to ruin his reputation.
Leonardo DiCaprio
While there hasn’t been much news surrounding Titanic‘s Jack, the actor’s private life didn’t remain hidden. DiCaprio broke up with Camila Morrone, his four-year girlfriend, a few weeks after the model’s birthday. After this announcement went public, fake news regarding the actor spread quickly on the Internet. For instance, there was a claim that DiCaprio donated money to Ukraine because he had familial ties to the country, but the news ultimately turned out to be false.
Shakira
Shakira comes seventh on the fake news leaderboard, which has much to do with her breakup with Piqué, the famous Spanish football player. For example, fake Casio Twitter accounts deceived the audience multiple times, posing privacy risks to users, as cybercriminals took advantage of what was happening. The tax fraud allegations were also false, as the pop singer confirmed.
Will Smith
Will Smith takes the eighth spot on this top 10 list, as many false claims started spreading online after the actor slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Many conspiracy theories suggested that Chris Rock wore a cheek pad or that Smith hit his chest with his left hand to generate a slapping sound. While many online posts presented the incident as fake, it was ultimately confirmed that the slap wasn’t staged.
Rihanna
There was a lot of misinformation on the Internet following a Facebook post that claimed that Rihanna became a mother. In the photo, she was holding an infant in her arms, but as it was later confirmed, the baby was her niece. But that wasn’t the only instance when fake news about the singer’s pregnancy was generated. In 2021, an image that showed the signer with a baby bump made everyone believe the information was accurate. But this happened months before Rihanna announced her real pregnancy.
Taylor Swift
Coming 10th on this list is Taylor Swift, the beloved pop singer. One of the most bizarre rumors is that the singer doesn’t have a belly button, which proved false quickly, even if Swift mentioned that she found the fake news amusing. Another rumor claimed that the singer doesn’t write her own songs, and this time, the fake news was harmful to Swift, as the artist herself mentioned in a tweet. However, the truth quickly came to light, and the person spreading this misinformation publicly apologized to the singer.
Final thoughts
Fake news can go viral rapidly, and its impact can be damaging to celebrities. But the risk they present goes beyond famous people’s lives, as they alter the perception of events, creating misunderstanding about crucial social or political issues. For this reason, spotting fake news is vital, and this involves verifying a source before taking the information at face value and using a fast-checking service.