#RIPJimmyFallon

About

#RIPJimmyFallon is a hashtag referencing an internet death hoax in which participants spread false rumors about comedian Jimmy Fallon's death, primarily on Twitter, in mid-November 2022. Similar to previous hoaxes, such as #RipJoeRogan, the hoax achieved virality online that month, with Jimmy Fallon even requesting Twitter CEO Elon Musk put a stop to it.

Origin

On November 15th, 2022, Twitter^[1] user @ledumb_deep posted an XXXTentacion Half-Face Mashup with a photograph of comedian and late-night show host Jimmy Fallon, captioned with the hashtag, "#RIPJimmyFallon." The post gained over 1,000 retweets and 10,300 likes in one day (shown below).

Spread

The post launched the viral spread of the #RIPJimmyFallon hashtag on Twitter on November 15th, 2022, as users made posts spreading misinformation of Fallon's death, which happened amid the controversy surrounding Elon Musk's recent acquisition of Twitter and the verification status controversy that followed it.

On November 15th, voice actor and content creator Solid JJ shared^[2] a fake tweet by The Tonight Show announcing the death of Jimmy Fallon, with the post gaining over 1,100 retweets and 31,100 likes in one day (shown below, left). Later that day, Twitter^[3] user @k1sh1ka1se1 tweeted a meme that imagined Jimmy Fallon's reaction to the hoax, with the tweet garnering over 2,300 retweets and 38,200 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Also that day, Jimmy Fallon posted a tweet^[4] in which he asked Twitter CEO Elon Musk to "fix it," with Musk replying, "Fix what?" The tweets^[5] gained over 85,100 likes and 54,400 likes in one day, respectively (shown below).

On November 15th, #RIPJimmyFallon then trended on Twitter^[6] in the United States.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References