False rumor claims comedian Steve Harvey died after 'tragic accident'

Claim:

Comedian and “Family Feud” game show host Steve Harvey died after a tragic accident in early 2024.

Evaluation:

Since early 2024, a false rumor has persisted in numerous social media posts, YouTube videos and even paid advertising that comedian and “Family Feud” game show host Steve Harvey died as a result of a “tragic accident” or car accident.

However, a simple check of Harvey's live weekday radio show and podcast “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” credibly confirmed that he was still very much alive on October 17, 2024. A representative for Harvey declined to comment on the matter.

As we previously reported, death rumor spreaders have targeted Harvey several times in the past. He responded (archived) to one of the hoaxes in July 2023 by posting a photo of himself looking at his phone along with the caption: “I see Rip Harvey is trending.”

Facebook users posted the rumor

As an example of the rumor, a Facebook user posted about Harvey on October 17: “Breaking news that Steve died in a car accident yesterday. RIP”

In a separate post on October 9, one user wrote: “So Steve Harvey was in a car accident but has survived so far. Why do people lie about his death?”

Also another user posted on October 9: “I pray that Steve Harvey survives this accident. He is such a sweet soul that you can always see on TV.” The same person also added in a comment, “Yes, there are rumors that he is dead and many said he is in critical condition. I pray he survives! The accident happened last night.”

Other users in a Facebook group called Steve Harvey fans posted a story about the death of an unnamed “icon.” The picture was presented In The posts are from December 2023 video shows the aftermath of a car accident in Los Angeles.

Snopes found no evidence that Harvey experienced such a crash at the time of these posts, let alone died from it.

Misleading YouTube videos

On YouTube, users spread the false Harvey rumor with misleading videos with clickbait-focused titles and thumbnails.

For example one video The image, uploaded on October 6, was captioned, “Devastating news… In a tragic accident last night, Steve Harvey passed away…” The thumbnail showed an image of Harvey superimposed over a photo of a car crash. The picture also showed a small picture of people carrying a coffin.

A YouTube user created this misleading thumbnail.

Other YouTube videos from earlier this year also spread the false rumor that Harvey had died, including some that mentioned the alleged “tragic accident.”

Harvey Death Hoax is promoted in Facebook ads

A search of Meta's advertising library revealed that the company had been accepting money from advertisers to promote Harvey death hoaxes for months in 2024, starting at least in March. The technology giant regularly reports quarterly sales figures in the double-digit billion range.

Ads running in October on Meta's Facebook, Instagram and Messenger platforms all read: “Steve Harvey dead? 'Family Feud' fans react to host's death trend!”

The ads encouraged users to download mobile news aggregator apps called “News Today,” “Daily News: Local & Alerts,” and “Local News: Breaking & Latest” from the Google Play Store. All three apps received thousands of positive reviews and millions of downloads. According to the apps brand informationThey were created by people or companies based in China. Meanwhile, the Facebook pages where the ads appeared displayed page manager information for users in China, Brazil and the US

We reached out to Meta for comment asking whether the ads violated their policies and, if so, how they avoided detection by the company. We will update this story if we receive a response.

Sources:

Ortutay, Barbara. “Facebook Parent Meta Posts Better-than-Expected Second-Quarter Results, Sending Shares Higher After-Hours.” The Associated PressJuly 31, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/meta-facebook-instagram-earnings-q2-2024-profit-15cbc0fdd0cc599d737388bb5a0c35a3.

“The Steve Harvey Morning Show.” iHearthttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/1141-the-steve-harvey-morning-27928551/. Accessed Oct. 18, 2024.

The Steve Harvey Morning Show | WHUR 96.3 FM. https://whur.com/shows/the-steve-harvey-morning-show/, https://whur.com/shows/the-steve-harvey-morning-show/. Accessed Oct. 18, 2024.