A rumor about the “Family Feud” game show host’s purported death persisted throughout 2024 in social media posts, videos and even paid advertising.
In a number of social media postings, YouTube videos, and even sponsored advertisements since early 2024, there has been a false rumor that comedian and “Family Feud” game show presenter Steve Harvey died in a “tragic accident” or automobile crash.
As of October 17, 2024, however, a cursory examination of Harvey’s live weekday radio program and podcast, “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” plausibly verified that he was still alive. Harvey’s spokesperson chose not to comment on the situation. Harvey has traditionally been the subject of death hoax propagandists on multiple occasions, as we have highlighted. In response to one of the hoaxes in July 2023, he shared a picture of himself staring at his phone with the comment, “Me seeing that Rip Harvey is trending.” The photo was preserved.
Facebook Users Posted the Rumor
As an example of the rumor, on Oct. 17, one Facebook user posted of Harvey, “Breaking news Steve passed on in a car accident yesterday R.I.P.”
In a separate post from Oct. 9, a user posted, “So Steve Harvey was in a car accident but has survived so far. Why do people lie about him passing away?”
A different user also posted on Oct. 9, “I pray Steve Harvey survives this accident. He’s such a sweet soul to always behold on TV.” The same person also added in a comment, “Yeah, there’s a rumor that he’s dead and many said he’s in a critical condition. I pray he survives! The accident happened last night.”
Other users in a Facebook group named Steve Harvey Fans posted a story about an unnamed “icon” dying. The picture featured in the posts originated from a December 2023 video showing the aftermath of a car crash in Los Angeles.
Snopes found no evidence Harvey was in such a crash around the time of these posts, let alone that died as a result of it.
Misleading YouTube Videos
On YouTube, users promoted the false Harvey rumor with misleading videos featuring clickbait-focused titles and thumbnail images.
For example, one video uploaded on Oct. 6 displayed the title, “Devastating News… In a Tragic Accident Yesterday Night, Steve Harvey Passed Away…” The thumbnail image showed a picture of Harvey superimposed on top of a photo of a car accident. The image also displayed a small picture of people carrying a casket.
A YouTube user created this misleading thumbnail image.
Other YouTube videos from earlier in the year also promoted the false rumor Harvey died, including some mentioning the purported “tragic accident.”
Harvey Death Hoax Promoted in Facebook Ads
The ads directed users to download news aggregator mobile apps from the Google Play Store named News Today, Daily News: Local & Alerts and Local News: Breaking & Latest. All three apps displayed thousands of positive reviews and millions of downloads. According to the apps’ brand information, they were created by people or companies based in China. Meanwhile, the Facebook pages running the ads displayed page manager information for users based in China, Brazil and the U.S.
We contacted Meta for comment, asking if the ads violated any of their policies and, if so, how they slipped past the company’s detection. We will update this story if we receive a response.
