Social media was sent into a frenzy today after a hacked Twitter account claimed actor Jack Black had died overnight.
Messages posted by Tenacious D, the comedy rock band co-founded by the comedian, said he had ‘died at the age of 46’, adding: ‘The cause of death is yet unknown.’

But just hours later, the same profile wrote:

WE had our Twitter account hacked. We can assure you that Jack is ALIVE and WELL and that this was a sick “prank”.

— Tenacious D (@RealTenaciousD) June 5, 2016

Guitarist John Konesky, who plays with Tenacious D, soon dismissed the rumours, writing: ‘Twitter feed was hacked. Than s**t ain’t true! They’re working on fixing it!’

@RealTenaciousD ‘s Twitter feed was hacked. Than shit ain’t true! They’re working on fixing it!

— John Konesky (@JKonesky) June 5, 2016

Just hours later, the hacker posted four further messages – revealing the death announcement had been fake.
The account wrote: ‘Calm down guys! It’s just a prank bro, look there’s the camera…’ Followed minutes later by: ‘The Legend is still alive, it is ok guys :)’