"His career is certainly dead": Shane Dawson dead trends as Twitter trolls drag YouTuber over death hoax

Popular YouTuber of yesteryear Shane Dawson made headlines recently after becoming the victim of a death hoax on Twitter.

The 32-year-old internet personality was subject to a trend on Twitter, where users used the phrase "Shane Dawson died" as bait to tack on another completely unrelated message.

"Shane Dawson dead" Twitter trend is false: How did the hoax begin?

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Shane Dawson Died is Trending! this is most likely False Kpop spam. I just Text Shane to see if he’s alive.No response yet. pic.twitter.com/kMvIXXtxXP

— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) April 15, 2021

As soon as the phrase "Shane Dawson died" began trending on Twitter, Keemstar posted a tweet with his own hypothesis. He stated that this was "K-pop spam."

This wasn't accurate. The phrase was used as a bait and switch, which is quite a popular type of meme format on the internet. Many anime fans used this meme format to segue into talking about something they deem more important.

Here are a few examples on Twitter:

shane dawson d!3d? anyway look at yumihisu pic.twitter.com/JXZ9FCHwEz

— lou 🙇‍♂️ (@R0BllN) April 14, 2021

@shanedawson died?Anyways, look at this Beautiful Lady. 🥺 pic.twitter.com/LcAGp2WzbJ

— Metalhead_Joe (@joseph_quartaro) April 15, 2021

shane dawson dead? oh well look at oikaw he’s living and well pic.twitter.com/ggCGuf7D5o

— •.• (@rekismum) April 15, 2021

Shane dawson died?? Well zenitsu didnt 😌 pic.twitter.com/mAyyP4TyaC

— ☆ (@Tiffytycoon) April 15, 2021

shane dawson died? k lol now look at klee pic.twitter.com/hHU6gWubTT

— venus ! CHILDE HAVER ♡ (@puppyventi) April 15, 2021

The format caught on pretty quickly, with people constantly tweeting out the phrase "Shane Dawson died." It was a little bizarre that netizens didn't seem to care about the statement's factual accuracy.

shane dawson died? oh no....anyways look at how cute xiao is pic.twitter.com/AJubz8Uo5m

— dusk (@Duskkuu) April 15, 2021

shane dawson died? anyway hua cheng's standard for wooing someone is giving away his own life pic.twitter.com/gNTVP7Vh4r

— haze⁷ 🌼 zhou xu's peach fuzz (@dianxiagod) April 15, 2021

shane dawson died? Well anyways look at them pic.twitter.com/4rl8ADgH2w

— Emi | future klee haver (@EmiLovesU2) April 15, 2021

While a good chunk of Twitter was propagating the harmful trend, other Twitter users called out the insensitive behavior exhibited by people on the platform. They claimed that joking about a person's death is simply unacceptable.

Here are a few users who called out the trend on Twitter:

The fact that people are celebrating or making fun of 'shane dawson is dead' is soo stupid. This is why I hate cancel culture so much. I dont care how horrible a person was, that is his problem. Bullying is NEVER ACCEPTABLE.

— Make It Right (@MakeItR81826371) April 15, 2021

Okay real moment:Please stop dehumanizing people. Shane Dawson is Dead? No he isn't. Stop spreading rumors like that. He's a human just like y'all are.

— Awesome Pyra/Mythra Facts (@urfuckinghorny) April 15, 2021

I hope Shane Dawson doesn't see all these tweets about people downplaying the idea of him dying because that's fucked up.I don't like him at all but he does not deserve to have this many people joking about his "death".

— Dan (@MadDanJay) April 14, 2021

making jokes about a death of people (shane dawson) including is incredibly insensitive, especially as someone who identified with poor mental health and past attempts of SH SI 🥺 do better internet

— lucy b (@kinlumin) April 14, 2021

Shane Dawson's public image took a beating over the years after his brand of comedy was labeled insensitive and anti-Semitic. From sexualizing an 11-year-old Willow Smith for the sake of a throwaway gag to reports of bestiality with cats and dogs, Shane Dawson hasn't been the ideal role model for the internet.

The YouTuber has disappeared from the platform following his apology video on June 17, 2020. He is yet to comment on the death hoax.