Ian Miles Cheong Death Hoax, Explained

Ian Miles Cheong, the Malaysian journalist infamous for his commentaries on American politics and culture, was pronounced dead at 40.

Well, not really. At least not what the internet wants people to believe.

Over the past couple of days, Cheong's name has been making rounds across social media platforms for supposedly dying or about to be executed.

Who is Ian Miles Cheong?

For anyone who ever dared to look through Elon Musk's comment section on X (formerly Twitter), Cheong's name would already be familiar for his criticizing commentaries.

Many of these are directed at online activists, government critics, and feminists. On the other hand, the journalist-turned-commentator agrees with almost all of Musk's claims.

The Malaysian journalist has been among the X accounts that received the most Community Notes for erroneous claims on his posts.

Cheong also occasionally appears alongside other self-proclaimed right-wing influencers and personalities on podcasts, interviews, and online appearances.

It comes as no surprise that many online users would express dissatisfaction over Cheong, often calling him a "grifter" for involving himself with issues and topics outside of his country.

The Internet Executes Ian Miles Cheong

While Cheong has been on X and has annoyed many people for quite some time, the death hoaxes were relatively new.

The trend started after the anti-Semitic account Censored Men posted a thread of Cheong on Feb. 9, stating that Israel has the "right to exist" and that it has the "right to defend itself."

It is worth noting that the Malaysian government is known for investigating and imprisoning people proven to share pro-Israel ideologies as sedition.

Cheong has promptly deleted the spotted posts before Feb. 14, but not until the internet has noticed it.

Just overnight, many people are making posts claiming that Cheong has been arrested, found dead, or facing a "public execution" via firing squad or electric chair.

Community Notes Against Cheong

Many of the posts remain up, duping at least a few people, due to missing Community Notes on the posts.

Unlike other fact-checking initiatives on other social media, Community Notes are primarily made by other users giving context to viral posts.

With many of the users under the program expressing dissatisfaction towards Cheong, almost none of the posts claiming he is dead were ever flagged.

Cheong has already dispelled the claims, stating that he is still alive.

As for the trolling on Cheong, there is no indication that it will stop soon. At least, not until Cheong deletes his X account.