50 Cent Not Dead, Rumor Arose After His Manager Chris Lighty's Passing

Rapper 50 Cent is alive despite persistent rumors to the contrary on Twitter and throughout the Internet. The incorrect news about his passing came about in the wake of the death of his manager Chris Lighty.

Reports that hip hop impresario 50 Cent, one of the richest men in show biz, has died are greatly exagerrated, but that's not stopping the topic of his supposed death from spreading like wildfire across the Web.

Chris Lighty passed away at the age of 44 on Thursday at his home in the Bronx, New York. He was found with a gunshot wound to his head and police said it appeared that he had committed suicide judging by the evidence at the scene of his death.

As the founder of Violator music company, Lighty had a major influence on hip hop, managing some of the biggest names in the game, from Sean "Puffy" Combs -- aka P. Diddy -- to 50 Cent.

But apparently he came into major money troubles and police believe he decided to kill himself, and a 9 mm handgun was found at the scene of his death, though there was no note or other definitive proof that the death was a suicide found in his Bronx home. The medical examiner's office is still working on determining the official cause of Lighty's death.

On Saturday, 50 Cent -- real name Curtis Jackson -- got caught up in the rumor mill called the Internet, where he became the latest victim of a death hoax rumor.

The Web killed 50 Cent on Saturday in the same way it has so many celebrities before, but this time it was easier to see what happened. As news about Lighty's passing spread across the information superhighway, it appears that the concept of the "manager to 50 Cent" dying grew into an untrue rumor that 50 Cent himself had passed.

But it simply isn't the case. 50 Cent -- the beloved Queens-born rapper behind hits like "In Da Club" and "Candy Shop" -- is still above ground, live as ever.

And he even gave a statement regarding the death of his manager, Chris Lighty:

"Chris has been an important part of my business and personal growth for a decade. He was a good friend and advisor who helped me develop as an artist and businessman. My prayers are with his family. He will be greatly missed."

It's not a huge shock that someone like 50 Cent could be the target of such irresponsible rumors, however, as many other celebrities have been hit with similar rumors

Reese Witherspoon, Remy Ma, Eddie Murphy, Kanye West, Jeff Goldblum, Britney Spears, Morgan Freeman, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, Kim Jong-Un, Phil Collins, Gotye, Pitbull, Usher, Robin Williams, Keke Palmer, Patrick Dempsey, Chingy, Paul McCartney, Rowan Atkinson, Madonna, Soulja Boy, Adele, Demi Moore, Jon Bon Jovi, Cher, Tony Danza, Jackie Chan, Hugh Hefner, Mick Jagger and numerous other celebrities have found themselves at the mercy of Internet pranksters who claimed that they were dead on Twitter, often by getting a tweet starting with "R.I.P." or "RIP" to go viral on social media sites, especially Twitter