No, former New Zealand cricketer Nathan McCullum has not died
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on December 4, 2018 at 08:00
- 1 min read
- By AFP Pakistan
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Posts began circulating online on December 1, 2018, that McCullum had died.
McCullum, an allrounder who retired from international cricket in 2016, quickly responded to the news by posting that he was alive.
I am alive and kicking more than ever before. Not sure where this news has come from but this is fake. Love you all. pic.twitter.com/WZ1nuX4LUo
— Nathan McCullum (@MccullumNathan) December 1, 2018
His brother, Brendon, a former captain of New Zealand’s cricket team, also reacted quickly and definitively to the false claim.
Tonight someone decided, via social media to release that my brother passed away! Im on a flight back to NZ and my heart broke! None of it is true! Whoever put this out there, I’ll find you! Somewhere, somehow.
— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) December 1, 2018
The issue made mainstream news, such as this report by Radio New Zealand and this report by by NZ Herald.
The New Zealand cricket fan page that McCullum highlighted in his tweet to announce he was still alive later issued the following apology.
Nevertheless, the false report of his death continued to circulate online, such as on this post on Facebook that had the caption: “Brendan Mccullum's Brother Nathan Mccullum is No More, #Rip.”
Here is another post from a page that has a photo of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan as its profile picture.
A video was also posted on YouTube comprising a slideshow of McCullum photos and falsely announcing his death was viewed more than 600 times in the first two days online. Below is a snapshot of the Youtube page.
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