[Archive 2008-09-21] Rumors of Oprah Winfrey's death a hoax

Historical archive — originally published 2008-09-21. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Internet users, as well as editors making edits on Wikinews and Wikipedia, have been the victims of a recent hoax that talk show host Oprah Winfrey has been found dead in her Chicago, Illinois home. The rumors are considered to be a hoax, connected with the online group known as Anonymous. Other reports say that the website 4chan.org is responsible for starting the rumor which began to spread quickly over the Internet.

The rumors started after a statement Winfrey made on a recent show, defending a United States Senate bill against pedophiles and child rapists saying a pedophile group has "over 9,000 penises" harming children. She was referring to a comment left on her website by an individual affiliated with Anonymous who was claiming to be a pedophile. Wikinews can confirm through anonymous sources that the rumor was started by the group Anonymous and the website 4chan.

According to an edit made by Camalex, a registered user on Wikipedia, Winfrey was found dead "in her Chicago home early Saturday morning". It was followed by a source linking to a Digg.com article, which links to oprahsdeath, a blog website regarding her alleged death. The first edit to her Wikipedia article, which was posted by an anonymous user, stated that Winfrey was "lying dead on her bed" when a family member found her. According to the edit, she had been suffering chest pains for several days, but concealed the discomfort.

Shortly after the Wikipedia edit, an anonymous user with the IP address, 24.109.236.254 on Wikinews, added an edit to the Newsroom that she had been "found dead".

On Digg users posted links to screen shots of websites allegedly carrying the news of her death via an alleged Associated Press report. Other Digg users left comments claiming to have seen it on their local news stations. Another screen shot apparently shows a BBC News article on her death which states that police released the claims.

Despite the reports, there were no other news agencies covering Winfrey's alleged death which had lead many to believe the reports to be a hoax. A user commented on the Reddit.com website that "there are over 9000 reporters currently converging on Chicago". According to Encyclopedia Dramatica, the term "Over 9000!" has been known to refer to an internet 'meme' which is derived from an Japanese television show called Dragon Ball Z and was often used to exaggerate the numbers of protesters attending recent anti-Scientology rallies.

The Post Chronicle state that the reports are nothing more than a hoax created by members of the internet website 4chan.org. According to the Post's report who quote the 4chan, they are vowing to create "joker-like chaos" for at least the "next week".

Wikinews has contacted The Oprah Winfrey Show to get a statement on the incident, but has yet to receive a response.

The group Anonymous has claimed responsibility for several pranks, or hacks against famous people in recent days. Hackers first started by hacking into Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account and the information contained in it was posted to Wikileaks.org. After the incident, FOX News commentator Bill O'Reilly made comments against Wikileaks and other press agencies who posted the material, which was met with retaliation by hackers who broke into his website, BillO'Reilly.com.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Rumors of Oprah Winfrey's death a hoax by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.