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2Pac Topham/Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images
2Pac

Reports of rapper Tupac Shakur still being alive are greatly exaggerated

An American TV network carried a false story claiming that the rapper was alive 15-years after he died which spread quickly on Twitter and Facebook. But it was the result of an anonymous hack.

A FALSE REPORT that murdered rapper Tupac Shakur is alive and well in New Zealand has circulated around Twitter and Facebook after a prominent American TV network website was hacked and the fake story was posted.

The American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) website briefly carried a story claiming that the famed rapper was alive and living in New Zealand, reports The New York Times.

The report came some 15-years after the rapper, who went by the stage name of 2Pac, was gunned down in Las Vegas in what many believe was the result of a bitter war between rival rappers.

The story, which has now been removed from the website, quickly gained traction on Twitter and Facebook and remains the most ‘Liked’ Facebook story on the PBS website despite the story link being broken.

The Huffington Post has posted a screenshot of the story as it appeared on the PBS website before it was pulled down but not before it spread like wildfire on the social networks.

An anonymous hacking group known as Lulzsec claimed responsbility for the attack in its Twitter feed where it posted thousands of stolen passwords from the PBS servers, reports the New Zealand Herald.

The group said it was in response to a PBS Frontline documentary that profiled suspected Wikileaks leaker Bradley Manning. The documentary was criticised by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as being hostile and a misrepresentation of his organisation’s views.

The false story will disappoint Tupac fans who may have thought there were big changes afoot after hearing the news that their hero was still alive…