A video shared on Facebook (FB) claims to show the funeral procession for Celine Dion. The funeral procession is actually for an American police officer who died in 2015.
“Paalam Celine Dion | Manatiling alaala Ang mga awitin mo Pahinga ka na (Goodbye Celine Dion | Your songs will be remembered, rest now),” the text in the video read.
This is a hoax. Dion’s official FB, website, and Instagram pages carry no such news.
In December, the Canadian singer revealed that she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder which causes progressive muscle stiffness. Shortly after, several photos and videos allegedly showing her on her deathbed, as well as death hoaxes, circulated online. (Read VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Filipinos share Celine Dion DEATH HOAX on FB).
The erroneous FB Reel shows people watching a funeral procession consisting of several police motorbikes, a hearse, a limousine, an ambulance, and two Homeland Security police cruisers passing by.
Reverse image search shows that the video’s original version, uploaded April 13, 2015 by YouTube user Keith Byres, showed the funeral procession for police officer Michael Johnson of San Jose, California.
Multiple news reports state that Johnson, a 14-year law enforcement veteran, died on March 24, 2015 after a suicidal man shot him.
The incorrect FB Reel got a total of over 579,608 interactions. It is very similar to a July 26 TikTok video which bore Brazilian captions.
Some netizens immediately called out the FB Reel as fake. Several others, who believed the latest Dion death hoax, wrote their condolences in the comments section.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
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