farrah fawcett

2009 was a year of ups and downs for Yahoo search.

It’s been a tough week for celebrities and their fans, as we’ve lost Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and Billy Mays.

Last night, I noted on Twitter that “why is everyone dying” was actually a hot Google search term, as apparently the masses think perhaps it’s more than just a coincidence that so many famous people are passing away.

UPDATE: Ellen and Diddy’s Twitter accounts also posted fake death announcements today as part of the same attack.

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Earlier today we mentioned the role of social media in distributing news of tragic deaths, including those of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett today.

The LA Times, we noted, is frequently being cited as a source of the Jackson news, and yet the blog TMZ.com appears to have confirmed the story much earlier.