A Filipino Facebook (FB) user published a reel claiming international action star Jet Li has died, including a photo of his alleged funeral as proof. This is fake.
Published on June 24, the 17- second clip has this superimposed text: “[P]aalam idol (Goodbye, idol) [crying emoji]”
It showed a photo of a funeral with people tossing flowers onto a coffin, while a portrait of Li stands near the casket, suggesting it is a ceremony for the action star.
This is a hoax. Neither Li’s official social media accounts nor any legitimate news outlets have reported on his alleged death. The image in the short video has also been altered.
The original photo in the reel was taken during the November 2022 funeral of Croatian director Lukas Nola that was published by Croatian news portal Showbuzz.
The iconic actor is still active and was spotted congratulating actress Michelle Yeoh on her Oscar win in March in a Weibo post made by Hong Kong film producer Tiffany Chen.
Rumors of Li’s death spread online after he appeared in a brand endorsement video released shortly after his 60th birthday last April where fans expressed concern over his frail appearance.
The FB user’s reel has garnered over 27,200 reactions, 2,900 comments, 2,000 shares and 737,000 views.
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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.)