Haruki Murakami not dead: Publisher confirms Twitter death hoax
Beloved Japanese author Haruki Murakami is not dead, his publisher confirmed Thursday after rumors of his health spread on Twitter.
Penguin Random House, which owns Murakami's U.S. publisher Knopf, confirmed on Twitter and in a statement to EW that Murakami is alive and well after Twitter account "Shinchosha News" tweeted, "Shinchosha publisher announces the death of author Haruki Murakami (Murakami Haruki)," and "Novelist Haruki Murakami dies. Official press note to be released soon."
Soon after the tweets spread, Knopf confirmed that the news was false, and Shinchosha News announced the tweets were a hoax created by Italian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti, the same person who created the Cormac McCarthy death hoax in June.
Murakami's fine, guys. When in doubt, check to see if the account that announces a "death" was created the same day. https://t.co/ZybVQ4iLX4
— Penguin Random House (@penguinrandom) August 4, 2016
This account is hoax created by Italian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti.
— Shinchosha News (@ShinchoshaNews) August 4, 2016
