'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher targeted in Twitter death hoax

New York, August 15 (ANI): Margaret Thatcher found herself at the center of the latest internet death hoax, after a Twitter account dubbed @OfficialSkyNews falsely tweeted Tuesday that former British Prime Minister had died.

The news setting the micro-blogging site ablaze with momentary confusion, as users waited for verification of the news.

The account, which had over 30,000 followers and had only 10 tweets at the time of its message, had no ties to Sky News.

But the short-lived internet hoax fooled several Twitter users, including ABC News' senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper.

"WHOOPS fake account apologies. Deleting," the New York Daily News quoted Tapper as tweeting.

Thatcher's Wikipedia page was also changed to reflect the fake news. It has since been rewritten to report that she is still alive.

The fake Sky News account quickly deleted the Thatcher tweets and now claims to be linked to the British radio show, 'Primetime Potter.'

It's not the first time that the Iron Lady's death has been falsely reported.

Mario Dumont, a former Quebec provincial party leader and talk show host, reported of her death on Twitter in May 2011.

"R.I.P. Margaret Thatcher, a woman of vision and decisiveness. A rarity," Dumont wrote.

The former Canadian politician later realized the mistake and apologized, "News came from a fake Carla Bruni account. Sorry."

Tuesday's hoax left many users of the micro blogging site wondering whether news of her death can ever be taken seriously.

"When Margaret Thatcher really does die, will anyone on Twitter even believe it? She's had more hoax deaths than any other," Stacey Herbert wrote. (ANI)

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