Almost two years ago, in 2012, the Internet literally exploded from the shocking news: "Gorbachev died!" The first president of the USSR (and also the last and only one) was "buried" with honors.
The news was hotly debated. Some claimed that the heart that had endured so many tragedies could not stand it, while others hinted that death was someone's order. And some remarked sarcastically: “Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died along with the Soviet Union…” It was, of course, about the death of the weight and significance of a person as a politician. In general, people were at a loss…
Where did the earth fill with rumors?
False rumors that Gorbachev had died began their "flight" from the well-known social network called "Twitter". The initial source of gossip was not the Russian sector, as previously stated, but the English-speaking one. Now it is difficult to say whose hands (more precisely, computers) this business. Most amateur analysts are inclined to believe that the news was spread by Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt, and in purest English. Of course, the accountwhich was announced that Gorbachev had died, turned out to be false, and the Prime Minister himself did not hear about gossip. Moreover, the English-language sector of the well-known "Wikipedia" on the very page that was dedicated to Gorbachev, was supplemented with a corresponding edit with the day of death.
According to the posted data, Gorbachev died in 2012, on May 22… The news hung for only seven minutes. However, this was enough. But the launched gossip spread across websites, blogs, all social networks with lightning speed. Moreover, it has become one of the most discussed. The Gorbachev hashtag has become a real global trend.
By the way, the phrase “Is it true that Gorbachev died?” is still being recruited in search engines - the ex-president of the Soviet Union has been "buried" at least four times over the past two years. Each time the information turned out to be a "duck". We dare to assure readers: now Mikhail Sergeyevich is alive and well.
Who is to blame?
Involuntarily, another phrase comes to mind: “What to do?” This question must have been asked by a bored Italian journalist named Tomasso Debeneditti. It was he who suddenly came up with the idea of creating a fake account. The "German Minister" turned out to be the same Italian journalist, known, by the way, for this kind of jokes.
Tomasso Debeneditti frankly admitted: the creation of fake accounts of world leaders was carried out in order to launch disinformation and deceive the media, to force them to once again publish unverified information (simplylie). It is difficult to even guess what exactly the Italian was guided by, because he himself is a journalist.
And what does Gorbachev himself say about his funeral?
Of course, he was surprised by such rumors. However, let's pay tribute, Mikhail Sergeevich reacted to the news with a certain humor. He stated that "thanks" to such media he "died" several times already. The next news about his own death found Mikhail Sergeevich in the clinic, where the next scheduled examination was carried out. At the moment, the state of he alth of the ex-president is normal and does not cause any concerns.
