Celine Dion Is Alive and Well, Thank You Very Much
Updated Nov. 7 2019, 2:55 p.m. ET
Recently, several Facebook users caught wind of the "news" that music icon Celine Dion apparently passed away after a plane crash. The link popped up in several social feeds around Nov. 3 and it appeared to be legit because it included segments from CNN. However, it didn’t take long for people to figure out that something was fishy about this post.
What did the post say?
Hundreds of Facebook users shared a link with the headline “Superstar and singing legend Celine Dion dead at 51.” After users clicked on this link, they were led to a page that showed a single video that had an edited segment from CNN.
In it, a fake banner can be seen along the bottom, announcing Celine's apparent "death." Meanwhile, John Bergman can be heard saying: "We have some terribly sad news to report this morning, heartbreaking, and devastating.”
It then pauses and forces the viewer to share the link before they can continue watching.
The video was posted on illegitimate sites like worldnews.hytactv.info and online.newstrends2k18.info, which were both created very recently. It's safe to say that they were made solely for the purpose of sharing that Celine post.
So did Celine Dion really die in a plane crash?
CNN never reported that Celine died, and a quick search on their website further confirms that the entire story was fabricated. The creator altered the channel’s video and made a CNN graphic so that it appeared to be legitimate, but there was no plane crash and Celine is very much alive. Even Celine's rep stepped forward and confirmed that the report is false.
Several users noticed that neither of the news anchors called Celine by name, which was rather suspicious. That was because someone used footage from an older report about the death of famous chef Anthony Bourdain, then cut to a series of photos of Celine to make it look like the segment was about her.
It's also worth noting that after the fake post surfaced, Celine has been on her Courage World Tour and very active on social media... Which would be impossible if she wasn't still alive.
Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time she's been the target of a death hoax. False reports also popped up on Facebook back in 2013, claiming that she died in an airplane crash. But thankfully, they were quickly debunked.
What is Celine up to now?
The best-selling Canadian songstress is now on tour and has already released three songs from her upcoming album: "Lying Down," "Courage," and "Imperfections."
On Nov. 6, after doing one of her shows, she shared a gorgeous photo on Instagram and said: "Thank you Detroit for an incredible evening! We’ll be on stage on Nov. 18 in Montreal! Can’t wait! erci Détroit pour la soirée incroyable! Nous remontons sur scène le 18 nov. prochain à Montréal! J’ai tellement hâte!"
Her new album, "Courage," is set to be released on Nov. 15, 2019.
