Report Of Eminem Being Stabbed Said To Be A Hoax

The text of the Facebook message was grim: “Rapper Eminem left nearly DEAD after being stabbed 4 times in NYC!” But the claim was untrue, and the attached photo of a tattooed man’s back with deep slash marks was not a picture of the rapper.

“These happen all the time. He’s fine,” a representative of the rapper told SPIN.

But the creepy claim gained some traction among music fans anyway, as many who saw it on Facebook and Twitter shared it without verifying the facts.

Those who click on the link, supposedly to see a video of the attack (!), are forced to share the link with their Facebook friends. “After sharing the post, the link redirects to a survey website promising “free prizes” along with more Eminem stabbing news, which, of course, never comes,” the International Business Times reports.

As the International Business Times notes, the same photo of a man’s slashed back was used in a similar scam in 2011 to claim that Justin Bieber was stabbed — he was not.

A new Eminem album is due out soon, and rumors are that it may include an appearance by comic Chris Rock.