Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason denies ‘exaggerated’ internet reports he is dead
Nick Mason says that bogus internet claims that he has passed away are ‘greatly exaggerated.’
When fans make certain Google searches such as ‘Nick Mason’ or ‘Pink Floyd Nick Mason’, at the time of writing, information displayed on the top of the results page shows that Nick allegedly died aged 74 in New York City on Thursday 1st March 2018.
This prompted many on social media to speculate about whether Nick was no longer with us – no doubt fuelled by the fact that if you search for ‘Nick Mason died’, Google once again ‘confirms’ his ‘death’.
Fortunately, wishing to allay fans fears and confirm that he is, in fact, not dead, Nick took to his social channels yesterday to write with great humour: “Recent reports of my passing have been greatly exaggerated...... i think?”
> Recent reports of my passing have been greatly exaggerated......i think? pic.twitter.com/UEGLtoEGuP > > — Nick Mason (@nickmasondrums) March 8, 2018
Almost 24 hours on from Nick’s denial, the Pink Floyd legend is still listed as ‘dead’ on Google.
According to myth-busting website Hoax Slayer, the bogus Google information derives from a change made by a prankster on the Nick Mason Wikipedia page on Thursday 1st March. Any member of the public can alter Wikipedia pages.
The erroneous information was swiftly edited by an eagle-eyed editor on Wikipedia, however, not quickly enough for it to be included in Google search results.
The moral of the story? Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.