The rumoured death of Bishop Desmond Tutu has been declared false.
An account under the name of Bishop Stephen Moreo – with over 15 000 followers – Tweeted that Desmond Tutu had passed away aged 90, earlier this afternoon. The news spread like wildfire, as South Africans began to mourn the revered reverend online. However, a few things just weren’t adding up.
The account itself is unverified. There was no confirmation from the Desmond Tutu Foundation itself. The person posting the announcement has Tweeted just four times – including the post that sent social media into a frenzy.
Eventually, as suspicions arose and more people began to label the declaration as ‘fake news’, we got a confession from the account in question – an Italian journalist, for reasons as yet unknown, confirmed he was behind this hoax.
The rumoured death was announced by one, Stephen Moreo, via a Twitter handle on Wednesday.
Tutu is renowned for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. Between 1985 to 1986 he is the Bishop of Johannesburg from and then the Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996. He is also the first black African to hold both positions.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
