‘Jim Carrey Dies’ Hoax Latest To Trick Twitter

“Jim Carrey dies” is a popular search right now as a persistent death hoax pegging the actor as the latest to fall victim to a vague accident abroad ping-pongs around the web — but the Dumb And Dumber star is alive and well, and the rumor is just the latest entry into the Celebrity Death Hoax Hall Of Fame.

The origin of the “Jim Carrey dies” rumor is the same site — we won’t link and perpetuate the hoaxing — that has e-killed off several celebrities this year, allowing for template death stories to be populated with the names of celebrities and spread on Twitter by upset fans.

The way the “Jim Carrey dies” hoax and its ilk seem to work is by picking a celebrity that has been quiet in recent months, plugging their names into an all-purpose story that could conceivably break slowly, and allowing the prank to populate the web via social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

According to the version claiming Jim Carrey’s death currently circulating, a tragic snowboarding accident in a remote Swiss lodge led to the fake demise of the comic star:

“The actor & novice snowboarder was vacationing at the Zermatt ski resort in Zermatt, Switzerland with family and friends. Witnesses indicate that Jim Carrey lost control of his snowboard and struck a tree at a high rate of speed … Jim Carrey was air lifted by ski patrol teams to a local hospital, however, it is believed that the actor died instantly from the impact of the crash. The actor was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and drugs and alcohol do not appear to have played any part in his death.”

While the “Jim Carrey dies” hoax carries no immediate indicators of a prank — it’s dated, specific, and uses relatively “newsy” language — the site from which it stems traffics solely in death hoaxes.

If you’re a Jim Carrey fan worried about the actor’s health and safety, you can follow him on Twitter to check his breathing and pulse at regular intervals.