Eminem fans got a shock when Google mistakenly declared that the rapper was dead.
Google's knowledge graph—the box of relevant information that appears above search results—claimed the the 51-year-old hip-hop star passed away in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 10.
However, he is alive and well, with a Wikipedia prankster to blame for the death hoax. But why did Google showcase the error?
A spokesperson for the search engine told Newsweek that Google's knowledge graphs come from a variety of sources across the internet, including Wikipedia.
When a practical joker amended Eminem's Wikipedia entry to say he'd died, Google automatically picked it up, giving Slim Shady devotees a fright.
"DO NOT SCARE ME LIKE THIS," wrote one fan on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.
"That guy should be jailed he gave me an attack," said another.
According to the Google representative, the search engine has systems in place to detect if their information sources have been tampered with. Although the technology usually does a good job of finding inaccuracies, it's "not perfect."
However, when the system does fail and a user informs Google of an error, the tech giant will manually fix it as quickly as possible.
Eminem isn't the only celebrity to fall victim to a Wikipedia stunt over the weekend. Rapper Bia was also pronounced dead by Google after a troll toyed with her Wikipedia page.
Like Eminem, the 32-year-old songstress also supposedly died on December 10, but the significance of the date is a mystery.
Debunking the rumors on X, Bia joked: "First of all I'm immortal sooo."
She also shared a clip of herself dancing to AB Dankoo's "I'm Still Alive" on TikTok, alongside a screen grab of the death announcement.
"IM STILL ALIVE!" she declared. "S***** ME!!!!"
Fans breathed a sign of relief, with one commenting: "Thank God."
As a free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia is volunteer-run and relies on contributions from web users. Although the site—which was created in 2001 and is overseen by non-profit The Wikimedia Foundation—allows source links to be added, its open source editorial process is a source of controversy. Anyone can edit a Wikipedia entry, allowing for biased entries or the possible spread of misinformation.
Nevertheless, Wikipedia is one of the most popular sites on the internet. It received over 4.5 million visitors in April 2023 alone, and according to data aggregation tool SimilarWeb, was the seventh most-visited website in 2023.
Newsweek has reached out to Wikipedia for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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