Steve Irwin’s Daughter Died? Not Really, We’ll Explain [Hoaxed]

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You may have run across a few tweets this morning claiming that Steve Irwin’s daughter died. We’re pretty sure you figured it out on your own, but Bindi Irwin, the 14-year-old daughter of the crocodile hunting great, is alive and well.

Essentially, what you’re looking at is a “trends hiccup” of some kind. Most online writers create content by observing trends (I’m doing it right now with the trending keyword/phrase “Steve Irwin daughter dies,” you just can’t tell).

Steve Irwin daughter death
Garth Brooks and golf are more important than a young girl’s death. Come on, America.

Anyway, this isn’t a death hoax like the ones we’re accustomed to lately wherein the Global Associated News kills our favorite celebs in the exact same skiing accident (and we fall for it every single time).

I’ll spare you the tl;dr explanation for why weird combined keywords like “Steve Irwin daughter dies” sometimes happen, and just stick with “trends hiccup.” It’s cute.

Anyway, Bindi Irwin is alive and well. As you can see though, a ton of old news stories are popping up about her: One, she was out promoting her new filmReturn to Nim’s Island in March, and new photos had emerged of an “all grown up” Bindi (one of which is up top).

Two, she got into a curious spat with former FLOTUS and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over a 1,000-word conservation essay she penned herself all the way back in January. The essay was re-worked (though there’s doubt over how much Hils had to do with it) and heavily edited, and Bindi refused to let it go into print.

Because of the “trend hiccup,” those stories, the most recent ones written about Bindi Irwin, are trending again as search engines look for stories to match up with the keyword.

Adding more fuel to the confusing fire, a June 14, 2013 story by the Today News Gazette titled “Steve Irwin Daughter Dies [Hoax]” smartly and unambiguously takes advantage of the “trend hiccup” with their title. While they admit that Bindi is alive and well, they re-hash a Daily Mail story about the teen’s fight with Hillary Clinton which, remember, is from January. Nice try, Stephen Fry!

This proves it existed in case they realize their mistake and 404 the page.
This proves it existed in case they realize their mistake and 404 the page.

Anyway, did you think that Steve Irwin’s daughter died? Did you tweet about it? Now’s the time, people. Stop this from becoming a widespread hoax.

Steve Irwin daughter


5 thoughts on “Steve Irwin’s Daughter Died? Not Really, We’ll Explain [Hoaxed]

  1. Good grief, is there anything that wicked woman (Hilary Clinton) doesn't have her nasty, dirty paws in? Bindi is much safer wrestling alligators than dealing with that evil woman, nothing but destruction, deceit and death follow her around. Stay clear Bindi, turn in YOUR version of the essay, that's what we all want to read. (sorry I'm behind the times, I know this was originally released in Jan…glad Bindi isn't dead, but if she were I would look at the FSOTUS first).

  2. Like we pointed out Priscilla, this death hoax wasn't really a traditional one that some idiot made up for pageviews and clicks. This is just the Internet getting its wires crossed, but people see reports of someone's death and they share it on Twitter, and boom … full blown death hoax. We tried to pour cold water on it before it ballooned up too big, and if you check other publications, it looks like we did.

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