Fake News: Steve Burns
On November 1st, 2015, a video was posted on the “MSMBC News” site that declared the death of 42-year-old Steve Burns, known for his role in the children’s television show Blue’s Clues. According to the video, the cause of Burn’s death was a fatal car accident. However, after diving deeper into the matter and a Twitter post from Steve Burns himself, it was discovered to be another fake news incident delivered to the world online.
Sadly, this is not the first time Steve Burns has been the victim of a death hoax. Almost 20 years before the car accident rumor, speculation arose that Steve Burns had died of a heroin overdose shortly after he took his leave from the Nickelodeon tv series Blue’s Clues in 1998. It has not been identified where or who started the gossip, but it is believed that the reason the cause of his supposed death was said to be an overdose was due to a character Burns starred as on the Law & Order episode Cruel and Unusual. Steve burns appeared as a guest on a talk show later that year to shut down the false rumors, letting everyone know that he was still alive.
Behind The Clues — 10 Years Of Blue (Part 2) — YouTube
In 2006, Burns addressed the reason he left the show in the ten-year anniversary Behind The Clues, stating that, “I knew I wasn’t going to be doing children’s television all my life. Mostly because I refused to lose my hair on a kids TV show, and it was happening fast.” Steve Burns has not been the only victim of death hoaxes; many other celebrities have been declared dead online for it later to be confirmed as untrue.
Just like the overdose scandal, the report of Steve’s car accident was false news. When news of the fatal accident hit the still alive Steve Burns, he took to Twitter to let people know the truth in a seemingly funny way. In his tweet, Steve Burns states, “I think the worst part about the latest rumor of my demise is that in it I was driving a Dodge Charger. Still arguably #alive, folks. Sorry.” After Burns confirmed that the car accident never happened, it was time to see where the story came from. When looking into the “MSMBC News” site, the source of which the video was posted, it was found to be a hoax website purposely disguised to replicate the real MSNBC news site and spread false information on the internet. There are plenty of reports of fake websites such as this deliberately posing as lookalikes to real news sites so they can spread idle gossip.
Many celebrities have been victims of fake scandals and death hoaxes, and with fake news sites looking so similar to real news sites, such false gossip online will most likely continue. Because of how easy it can be for incorrect information to spread on the internet and be interpreted as accurate, it is essential that we check the facts of what we are told online before we blindly believe it.
Works Cited:
“Behind The Clues — 10 Years Of Blue (Part 2).” YouTube, uploaded by NickelodeonShows1, 15 Jun. 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwpC4IxvXTU.
Burns, Steve [@SteveBurnsAlive]. “I think the worst part about the latest rumor of my demise is that in it I was driving a Dodge Charger. Still arguably #alive, folks. Sorry.” Twitter, 31 Oct.
Mikkelson, David. “Steve Burns Death Hoax.” Snopes, 1 Nov. 2015, Accessed 27 Sep. 2021, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/steve-burns-death-hoax/.
“Steve Burns Death Hoax.” Snopes, 11 Nov. 1999, Accessed 27 Sep. 2021, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/steve-burns-overdose/.