Oprah Winfrey Killed in Tragic Car Accident According to Rumors

Oprah Winfrey has died in a car crash; or at least that is what a fast spreading internet rumor would have us all believe.

Since Michael Jackson's untimely death in June of 200, the world has heard about all sorts of unspeakable tragedies besetting celebrities. Until the news that Oprah Winfrey was killed in a car crash, the most recent celebrity death rumor involved Bill Cosby, who also was said to be dead. Justin Bieber was once dead as well as Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. None of these, thankfully, turned out to be the least bit true.

It seems that these rumors come out of nowhere and almost always are not true; in fact, to date they have never been true.

The rumors, however, do not start out of nowhere. Sometimes it is simply a prank pulled by a bored internet surfer; there are actually websites that exist that help you create and spread your own celebrity death rumor (they will not be listed here).

Stories such as Oprah Winfrey dying in a car crash are not always ultimately a harmless prank. Many times there can be malicious intent behind them above and beyond the inherent cruelness involved with claiming somebody, such as Oprah Winfrey, is dead.

Many times these celebrity death rumors are created to attract increased traffic to websites that are used to house malicious software and viruses (often known as 'malware'). In late June, rap star Eminem was 'reported' dead and as many went online to learn more, their searches took them to a site proclaiming itself to be CBS News, when it was in a bogus website that invited users to click on a video that really led to malware.

So while Oprah Winfrey's time as the queen of day time television may be coming to an end, the story that she was killed in a car crash is almost certainly another internet hoax. Thus far, no credible news source has yet confirmed the story.

Oprah Winfrey, however, won't be the last celebrity to be falsely reported as being killed prematurely, whether in a car crash or through some other tragic means. Surely in the upcoming days and weeks there will be many more celebrity death stories. They always seem to involve an instantly recognizable household name; presumably to attract the most attention and most immediate traffic.

So as Oprah Winfrey is likely safe and sound today, and not dead from a car crash, there are undoubtedly many out there planning the next celebrity death rumor.

Source: Staff, "Bill Cosby Is Not Dead", nymag.com