I know there was the rumor that if you played a certain Beatles song backwards, you'd hear Paul McCartney was dead, but THIS is ridiculous!

On the other hand, this falsehood was squelched pretty quickly. Books have actually been written on the "Paul Is Dead" legend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_is_dead

I think it was about 10 years ago when a U.S. Congressman made a boo boo like this. Arizona had a Congressman named Bob Stump. Stump got word, which was inaccurate, that the iconic comedian and actor Bob Hope had died and, in tears, went to the floor of the House of Representatives, saying that Hope was dead. Stump obviously had the audacity -- of Hope.

When reporters got to Bob Hope's home in Palm Springs, California, he was eating his breakfast and was very much alive.

And at least one national news organization reported Bob Hope's death and then had to retract it.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/06/us/oops-bob-hope-is-not-dead.html