Viral posts falsely declare Indian actor and politician Divya Spandana dead

On September 6, social media platforms were inundated with posts claiming that Indian actor and Congress leader Divya Spandana, also known as Ramya, had passed away. 

Various posts on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook claimed that the actor and former parliamentarian had died of a heart attack. The archived versions of the post can be seen here, here, and here.

Viral posts on social media claimed that Divya Spandana died in September 2023. (Source: X/Screenshot)

Such posts quickly gained traction online and people from various corners of the country shared their condolences. The hashtag #RIPDivyaSpandana picked up on X.

Viral posts on social media claimed that Divya Spandana died in September 2023. (Source: X/Screenshot)

Spandana remains active on social media

Not only is Spandana very much alive, she was active on social media even as rumors about her death were taking over the online world. At 2:21 am IST, Spandana took to X to post a cryptic message and wrote, “What’s in a name. A lot, apparently.”

Later in the day, at 1.25 pm IST, Spandana responded to an X post by writer-journalist Chitra Subramaniam, which carried a picture of the two together. The post by Subramaniam read, "Wonderful meeting the very talented and genteel lady ⁦@divyaspandana for dinner in Geneva. We talked about many things, including our love for Bangalore(sic)." In her reply to the post, Spandana said, "See you in namma uru soon!"

Alleged media misreporting

As the news about Spandana’s supposed death continued to gain traction, several media outlets also purportedly picked up the story without proper verification. In their rush to break the news, some outlets reportedly ran headlines declaring Spandana's dead without verifying the accuracy of the information. 

While Logically Facts found no remaining evidence of such misreporting, several social media users have shared posts alleging that at least two Tamil media outlets contributed to the confusion through their unverified reporting.

Divya Spandana clarifies

Spandana, currently in Geneva, expressed her dismay at the false reports of her death in a statement to Logically Facts. "I am shocked at the irresponsible reporting. It reflects on the times we are living in. I don't even know how to react to this. What am I to say? 'I'm alive'!! I'm now having to give quotes that I am alive. So bizarre,” she said. “And btw (by the way), it happened twice before—just to get a reaction from me because TRP comes so cheap. P.S At least I got a glimpse of what would happen if I really did die (sic),” she added.

As rumors of Spandana's death were doing the rounds on social media, KT Lakshmi Kanthan, chairman of the Tamil Nadu unit of the Indian National Congress, also took to social media to debunk the death hoax. His post stated that Spandana was alive and well: "Our beloved Former Social Media Chairperson Ms. @divyaspandana is ABSOLUTELY FINE. Rumors and some TV channel news are 100% WRONG."

KT Lakshmi Kanthan’s clarification on X. (Source: X/Screenshot)

Furthermore, Subramaniam also posted a separate clarification on X around 12:15 pm IST on September 6, writing, "I just spoke to @divyaspandana. She’s well. En route to Prague tomorrow and then to Bangalore."

Chitra Subramaniam’s post on X. (Source: X/Screenshot)

Dhanya Rajendran, the co-founder and chief editor of Indian media outlet The News Minute (TNM), also addressed the matter around midday on September 6. She posted on X, “Just spoke to @divyaspandana. She is in Geneva, was sleeping peacefully till calls came in. Whoever the irresponsible person was who tweeted this and the news organisations that put it out as news flash, shame on you. #DivyaSpandana”. 

Dhanya Rajendran’s post on X. (Source: X/Screenshot)

Speaking to Logically Facts, Rajendran said, "It is highly irresponsible for media to put out stories that somebody is dead without doing any kind of verification. Clearly nobody has even tried to call her and some of the media channels which broke the stories are repeat offenders. And you are writing about a young person, how do you not have the responsibility to at least try and verify? What is this tearing hurry to declare somebody dead?"