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It was Sunday afternoon and I had just finished my incredible Father’s Day lunch with my wife, sons and their wives and my granddaughter when I got a text message from a good friend that left me speechless.

Text Regarding Billy Gibbons
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I couldn’t believe it. Part of my childhood was gone. Billy Gibbons had died. No more "Sharp Dressed Man" or "Legs"; it was all over.

I had to park the issue for the mean time in order to enjoy the rest of my day, but, rest assured, it was the first thing on my agenda Monday morning.

It was then that I found out my friend had been duped. Billy Gibbons was just as alive as he and I. There had been no car wreck. It was all another of those internet hoaxes.
Here’s what I found on mediamass.net:

News of guitarist Billy Gibbons’ death spread quickly earlier this week causing concern among fans across the world. However the June 2021 report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax and just the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports. Thankfully, ZZ Top guitarist is alive and well.

One look at this and it occurred to me just how crazy of an “informational” world we live in today. Anyone with a keyboard and internet access can now be a journalist. And they aren’t held to the same standards of professionals who actually do this for a living. They can simply regurgitate any old rumor they might hear and report it as fact.

Sad part is, this certainly isn’t the first, nor will it be the last, time this happens. And it causes so many of us to be so suspect of even real news from legitimate sources, like when we heard that Paul Walker of “Fast and Furious” fame had died. Just consider how much time had elapsed before you ever believed it.

Because of this, I began to search the internet and was shocked to see just how often these hoaxes are perpetrated.

Just look at these 10 Celebs the Internet Thought Died but Are Definitely Still Alive

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