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AP
In what is sure to be seen as a sick joke or ill timed and just plain offensive, the video of a person in the likeness of Michael Jackson jumping out of an LA county coroner van is all a hoax.
CNN reports: A hoax video purporting to show Michael Jackson hopping out of a coroner's van alive was produced by a German television station as an experiment, the broadcaster told CNN Monday.
It was made to show how easy it is to spread rumors online, said Heike Schultz, a spokeswoman for RTL, the leading private broadcaster in Germany.
"We sent out a press release before we did the video to alert everyone that it was fake, but once posted it spread really fast," she said.
More than 880,000 people have clicked on the most popular version of the video on YouTube, posted by a user using the name "michaeljacksonhoax" under the title "Michael Jackson alive?! Seen coming out of coroner's van!" Nearly 3,600 people have commented on the video.
"All the moves, his posture, the stepping out of the van, looks like MJ. He steps out very cautious, like a moonwalk. Also the slowly walking is just like Michael did," one user wrote.
"I really hope he's still alive....I could never forgive him for scaring me like that, but I could never hate him... :)," another said.
Not everyone was fooled.
"I would forgive Michael for anything because he is so super sexy but seriously guys he has passed," one user wrote. "MJ has passed so leave him alone this movie is fake. R.I.P. Michael I love and miss u."
A second version of the video, posted and annotated by "MUZIKfactory2" to show inconsistencies, has been seen more than 329,000 times. Both versions were posted on August 25.
RTL produced the video for its daily magazine "Explosive" to tell people not to take information at face value, the station's representative said.
"This was so obviously fake, in the case of Michael Jackson, it just was not possible," Schultz said.
According to Schultz, some viewers have been happy that the magazine showed them how easy it was to fake information online. Others who were Michael Jackson fans have told RTL that this was the wrong topic to do this kind of experiment on.
"It was not a bad thing, since it was so obviously a fake. But it is now in our poison wardrobe and it won't be revived again," Schultz said.
RTL said it removed the video from the Internet, but it can still be seen on YouTube.
News of Jackson's death on June 25 sparked something of a feeding frenzy on the Web, as many news Web sites struggled to cope with the sheer volume of traffic.
With that came rumors that dragged in other celebrities completely unconnected to the "King of Pop's" death.
What do you think of the video? Insensitive or just poor taste?
Attention Michael Jackson supporters: There is a wonderful new project in the form of a portrait that millions of fans worldwide can take part in. A Portrait of Michael Jackson created from millions of hand-drawn dots will invite millions of fans worldwide to become part of
You can now sign up at SupportJacksonPortrait.com for your dot. The portrait starts on August 28th. A dedicated website will be created so people can sign up for their free dot. People will be able to attach a message to their dot if they choose. Every time someone signs up, a dot will be hand drawn in the work of art in their name. People will be able to go online to see the portrait as it evolves toward completion and read some of the messages.
Please sign up at SupportJacksonPortrait.com and be a part of this tribute to the King of Pop.
Read the interview with artist David Ilan here.
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Comments
I LOVE MICHEAL AND I WISH THAT HE WAS ALIVE. I KEEP TELLING MY SELF HE JUST WENT AWAY TO GET SOME REST FROM THE MEDIA. HE NEED REST WE HAVE HAD MICHEAL ALL HIS LIFE UNTIL HE HAVE'NT HAD TIME FOR HIMSELF. IF I HAD THREE WISHES ONE WOULD BE FOR MICHEAL TO BE SOME WHERE ALIVE AND HAPPY.I WOULD USE ANOTHER ONE FOR GOD TO TOUCH THE HEART OF THE FAMILIES TO COME FORWARD AND REALLY CLEAR HIS NAME OF THE TWO CASES HE HAVE, BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF THE REASON WHY MICHEAL IS NO LONGER WITH US. PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THEIR WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER MICHEAL JACKSON HE IS IRREPLACABLE. I WAS LAYED OFF FROM MY JOB DURING THE TIME OF HIS DEATH AND I WAS GLAD THAT I DID. BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE LOST IT ANY WAY, I WAS LITERALLY WAS SICK TO MY STOMACH. MY SISTER ASKED ME IF I WOULD'NT HAVE LOST MY JOB WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE I TOLD HER I WOULD USE MY BEREAVEMENT DAYS, SHE TOLD ME THATS FOR FAMILY AND I TOLD HER MICHEAL WAS FAMILY. IT'S SEPT 17 AND I DON'T WANT IT TO BE TRUE. I PRAY TO GOD HE'S ALIVE!!!! PEACE
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