Fact CheckMainstream

HOAX! Popular Actor Van Damme is not dead

Claim: A Facebook user claims that popular Hollywood actor Jean-Claude Van Damme has passed after battling a stroke. 

HOAX! Popular Actor Van Damme is not dead

Verdict: FALSE! The image used to portray the sick Mr Damme was doctored, and there is no news from the family confirming his death.

Full Text 

Popular Hollywood actor known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme is a martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Mr Damme became a popular action film star with Cyborg in 1989. 

A Facebook user Ike Precious  on June 2, 2023, posted a picture of a Hollywood actor with the caption, “It just happened, Hollywood actor Jean-Claude Van Damme passed away at his home after a stroke.”

Ms Precious posted a picture of the actor with another picture of him supposedly on a hospital bed. 

In 2010, Mr Damme reportedly suffered a minor heart attack while shooting his latest film, Warrior, a day after his 50th birthday but fully recovered later. After the attack, Mr Damme has been in other movies and TV shows. 

The post had gotten different reactions, from people believing it was fake and others believing it to be true. Adeleke Bolanle used the exclamation symbol with “R.I.P.” Another user Onika Straker expressed his displeasure saying, “It is a lie. Stop it.”

DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim because of the personality involved, the virality of the post, and the effect it has had on fans. 

Verification 

To verify this claim, we ran an advanced keyword search and discovered that the post was also in circulation on YouTube, but it did not state an actual source for the claim. We then

 used TinEye reverse image search, which redirected us to Alamy, a site with stock photos and 360° panoramic images. 

We found out that the image used to portray the Hollywood actor was doctored, and the original one was a stock picture with an old man receiving treatment with the caption “Unrecognizable doctor caring of a sick patient in resuscitation at nighttime, saving the life of a senior man lying on bed.”

We then used Google Lens and discovered that the original one had been doctored a few times with pictures of other celebrities that were hoaxed to be dead. 

A YouTube page known as deceased celebrities TV was found to be dedicated to this act. The page also used the picture to portray the death of Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell, amongst others. 

A link was also attached to the post on Facebook, but it links to betting sites, porn sites and VPN sites, which suggests the post was used as clickbait.

We also compared the image posted on the claim with Mr Van Dammes’ picture and found out that while the one used had a tattoo on his left arm, his original picture posted on his Instagram page had no tattoo. 

HOAX! Popular Actor Van Damme is not dead
A comparison of both pictures. 

In June 2019, it was also rumoured that the actor had died, but he himself posted a video debunking the claim, confirming he is “alive and well.”

We went through the Instagram and Facebook pages of the Actor (@Jean-Caude Van Dames) and found nothing. There is no news about his death on any credible media outlet, and his family and friends have not made similar announcements. The actor also posted a picture on Facebook on June 21, 2023, several days after the rumour was shared.

Conclusion

Hollywood actor Van Damme is not dead. The false news was used to gain traction on other websites. The families and management of Mr Damme have also not come out to share any news about his death.

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