Hoax claims TikTok star Corn Kid was found dead in gang shooting
YouTubeA disturbing new internet hoax is claiming that TikTok’s beloved Corn Kid was found dead in a gang-related shooting, but the young corn-lover is alive and well.
7-year-old Tariq went viral on TikTok for professing his love of all things corn, earning him the moniker of ‘Corn Kid.’ However, with such fame unfortunately comes danger.
The internet can be a scary place and it’s not uncommon to see trolls create fake news articles to enrage the masses or just trick trustworthy individuals.
In late September, a screenshot seeming taken from an NPR article claimed that the Corn Kid was found dead, leading many to voice concern for the youngster. Luckily, the article was fake, but that didn’t stop it from spreading with many believing the hoax was in fact genuine.
Corn Kid death hoax spreads
The fake article dated September 26 and “written” by Dustin Jones claimed that Corn Kid has been found dead “last Sunday” in a gang-related shooting.
A quick search of NPR reveals that the site does in fact have a writer by the name of Dustin Jones, but he never wrote any such article, nor has he ever even posted anything Corn Kid-related.
According to Distractify, the fake screenshot seems to have originated on Facebook, but spread to other websites such as Twitter.
In actuality, Corn Kid is doing just fine and was even named South Dakota’s official ‘Corn-bassador’ by the state’s governor.
Tarik’s popularity even resulted in the creation of a song called ‘It’s Corn’ that has been viewed over 70 million times since being uploaded in August.
The Corn Kid is hardly the first celebrity to fall victim to a death hoax. Over the years, Jeff Goldblum, Whoopi Goldberg and more have had hoaxes claim that they passed away.
