Hoax Death Announcement Predicted Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's Death

Barely a day had passed since Hollywood actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's publicist had debunked Internet rumors started earlier in the week claiming the actor was dead before actual news came today that Hoffman had indeed been found dead in his New York City apartment where a friend found him lying on the bathroom floor with a needle sticking out of his arm having died from an apparent heroine overdose. The Daily Telegraph's Damian Thompson asks how a hoax "prophesied the deadly reality" of Hoffman's death.

UPDATE: David Emery at About.com disputes the hoax death claim, which he says never happened. He blamed the misinformation on Media Mass, a satire website. The Daily Mail and many other news outlets report otherwise. "The news of Mr Hoffman's death comes just one day after representatives for the actor issued a statement denying he was dead after an internet hoax claimed the star had passed away on Saturday," The Daily Mail reports.