SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: Filipino singer Marcelito Pomoy was “found dead in his hotel room” after losing in American talent show America’s Got Talent.
Facebook’s monitoring tool Claim Check flagged several links containing this claim for fact checking. As of writing, at least 7 unique links had been shared on Facebook from February 21 to 22. All of the links share the same domain (viralnewsupdate.livelikeyourdying.com).
The links redirected to a different website (2018socialclub.com), which showed a video of what looked like a clip from a newscast. They all used the logo of BBC News, and had the same title: “BBC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: MARCELITO POMOY FOUND DEAD IN HIS HOTEL ROOM AFTER LOSING AMERICA GOT TALENT.”
When the play button was clicked, however, the videos only played for a few seconds then required viewers to share the post on their own Facebook accounts to “uncover” the rest of the clip.
The websites also had a disclaimer at the bottom of the pages, which read: “This site DOES NOT CLAIM any OWNERSHIP or COPYRIGHT on ALL the audio or videos shared.” It also named Trending Portalz, Portalz, Trendz, and Balita Portaz as sources.
As of writing, Claim Check estimated that the links had been viewed and shared on Facebook over 40,300 times.
Rating: FALSE
The facts: Pomoy denied the news of his own death and said he is “alive and kicking” in an Instagram post on Saturday, February 22.
The singer posted a screenshot of the death hoax on his verified Instagram account. “Alarmed with this post.. Please don’t post fake news just to have views in YouTube. That is so not right. I am really sad right now. I love how vloggers earn money from all my performances in AGT and all but please don’t post like this. I AM ALIVE and KICKING!!! Thank you so much,” Pomoy captioned his post.
The singer has also actively posted on his official social media accounts since then, both on Instagram and on Facebook.
Moreover, none of the sources cited were legitimate news organizations or affiliates of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The embedded video is a 25-second clip uploaded by YouTube user Lonely Girl on February 20. The rest of the clip was not about Pomoy anymore, rather about the supposed death of Vanessa Bryant – which Rappler has also previously debunked. As of writing, the channel had uploaded 5 videos – 2 of which were death hoaxes.
Pomoy was hailed grand winner of the second season of Pilipinas Got Talent in 2011. He gained wider popularity in 2020 after joining America’s Got Talent: The Champions, a special edition of the talent show franchise that brings together fan favorites from the original American edition and standouts from different Got Talent franchises all around the world.
Pomoy finished 3rd runner-up in the finals of America’s Got Talent: The Champions, which aired on February 18 (February 17 in the US). – Pauline Macaraeg/Rappler.com
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