Morgan Freeman Dead? Actor Joins Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby, Rihanna in Death Hoaxes

Morgan Freeman was declared dead by a report this week, only for the rumor to turn out to be another death hoax. The popular actor has been declared as alive and well.

A Facebook group was established on Wednesday declaring that the actor has passed away, sparking a flurry of rumors and reports spreading across the Internet. Fans were understandably expressing their distress at the news, although others immediately identified the report as a hoax and attempted to reassure others that Freeman was in fact still alive.

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The Facebook group that declared the death hoax has been "Liked" by more than 50,000 people, with many fans leaving their messages of condolences as posts under the news.

Celebrity death hoaxes have become increasingly popular over recent years, and numerous websites, and social media usernames have attempted to "kill off" famous celebrities in the hopes of gaining attention to their claims.

Last week Eddie Murphy was reported as dead by Global Associated News - a website becoming notorious for faking death claims.

According to the GAN: "The actor & novice snowboarder was vacationing at the Zermatt ski resort in Zermatt, Switzerland with family and friends. Witnesses indicate that Eddie Murphy lost control of his snowboard anda struck a tree at a high rate of speed."

That fake report also sparked a wave of concerned fans to take to social media sites discussing the death. However, for the eagle eyed readers there was a disclaimer contained at the bottom of the GAN article explaining that the story was completely fake and fabricated for "entertainment purposes."

Other fake celebrity deaths recently have been Bill Cosby, who said it was "not funny," as well as Rihanna, and British actor Robert Pattinson.