Television personality Steve Harvey became the latest celebrity victim of artificial intelligence-generated misinformation when false reports of his death circulated online this week. The controversy began when an article titled “Steve Harvey Passed Away Today: Remembering The Legacy Of A Comedy Legend” appeared on Trend Cast News (via TheWrap) on Dec. 17 before being picked up by news aggregator Newsbreak. The suspicious post was dated Dec. 19, 2024, suggesting an AI-generated origin.
According to Reuters‘ investigation, this incident isn’t isolated – Newsbreak has reportedly “published completely false information and making erroneous (and potentially illegal) changes to the stories it takes from other sites” at least 40 times since 2021. The rapid spread of the false report prompted Harvey’s name to trend on Google, though many users quickly identified the story as fake.
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Harvey, 67, who has remained active on social media throughout the incident, hasn’t directly addressed the hoax. On Wednesday, Dec. 18, he shared a holiday portrait with his wife on Facebook, writing, “Throwing it back to Christmas moments filled with love, laughter, and reflection. Grateful for my rock, my queen, Marjorie. Every year, every memory, every blessing.”
The Family Feud host, who’s been married to Marjorie Harvey since 2007, has built a blended family of seven children. These include Marjorie’s three children whom he adopted – Morgan, Jason, and Lori – as well as twins Brandi and Karli and son Broderick from his marriage to Marcia Harvey and son Wynton with ex-wife Mary Shackelford.
Recently, Harvey shared insights about his parenting approach, particularly regarding his children’s dating lives. “If I spot a bad one, I get rid of them,” he told Us Weekly in March. “I make no bones about it, so they’re very careful when they bring them. You can think a person is wonderful, but everybody’s wonderful in the beginning. Everybody, you always meet the mask.”
He elaborated on his protective instincts: “But if you come in the house, and I know right off the top that you’re just not a good guy, I start the reading process right away. I don’t say nothing to my daughter, I just, behind the scenes, I start working toward getting rid of this guy.” Harvey added that “a relationship becomes an elevator. It can take you up or it can take you down, so choose wisely.”
Harvey emphasized teaching his sons to be “very respectful of women,” stating, “Treat them the way you want somebody to treat your sister and your mother and then go from there. And no other treatment is acceptable. So I think they got it.” He joked, “My daughters, I wish they’d listened to me more, but they got to go through it.”
While AI-generated content can sometimes produce harmless entertainment, such as amusing AI-generated images showing the TV host in outlandish scenarios, this incident highlights growing concerns about AI’s potential for spreading misinformation. This isn’t the first time Harvey has faced false death announcements, with multiple similar hoaxes circulating in recent months, leading to apparent fatigue with addressing such rumors.
