10 False Music Facts You Probably Believe

Many of you reading this will be well-aware of the Paul Is Dead conspiracy. What began as a simple hoax, eventually involved into a full-blown retroactive search for proof, with superfans combing through album notes, lyrics, and interviews trying to find a shred of evidence of the death of the original Paul McCartney.

Well, as it turns out when it comes to groups of fans joining together to conspiratorily discuss the possibility of their favourite artist's death, lightning really does strike twice.

The rumour that Canadian pop-rocker Avril Lavigne had died and been replaced by a lookalike had done the rounds across the internet for years before becoming popularised in a series of Tweets in 2017.

The now-deleted thread alleged that Lavigne had been replaced by a body double named Melissa after becoming disillusioned with fame, and even, possibly dying sometime between 2002 and 2004.

Unfortunately for fans hoping to have happened upon a real-life conspiracy, the theory just isn't true. Apart from the fact that the entire thing hedges on some pretty unsubstantial evidence: ('Haven't you noticed that she used to wear trousers and now she wears dresses?') But a blog later appeared from an anonymous fan who claimed to have started the rumour solely to prove how easily misinformation can spread online.