Death hoax
There are often consequences when the person who started the hoax is discovered. The news media has to be especially careful of hoaxes, including death hoaxes. While some people will believe anything, most people resent being tricked. However, it depends on how the story is handled: For example, a death hoax ran in Canadian papers about a hard-drinking, hard-swearing Carcross Parrot who had just died; most forgave the writers since the story was published on April Fools' Day.