Noam Chomsky is not dead yet

Everyone dies eventually, and renowned linguist Noam Chomsky would be no different — but at the time of this writing, he is alive. And, sadly, his wife is explaining to people that reports of his death are “false,” According to The Associated Press,

Chomsky, 95, is hospitalized in Brazil recovering from a stroke he suffered last year. AP reported earlier this monthHe is having trouble speaking and “the right side of his body is affected.” Various specialists are treating him. There is no dispute about this.

Two publications, Jacobin And The New Statesman, It appears that they published obituaries.The New Statesman removed his post; Jacobin Its headline changed from “We remember Noam Chomsky” to “Let’s Celebrate Noam Chomsky,” And Edited your promotional tweetAlthough – notably – “obituary” is one of the key words in the article’s URL.) Both The New Statesman And Jacobin At first glance these appear to be reliable sources. Chomsky has said written for the former And Often the latter are interviewedBut neither of them appears to have asked anyone whether Chomsky was alive or not.

Some confusion remains about Chomsky’s state Wikipedia talk pageWhile editors are trying to confirm reports of his death, users on social media posted Old Videos And Other tributes In honor of Chomsky Alleged deathSome reports of Chomsky’s death were retweeted thousands of times.

“As far as working people accepting what the media tells them is concerned, he said, [Chomsky] “People never believed it because of its modesty or credibility, but because of the great effort it took to find alternative avenues of information,” Vivek Chibber wrote in his report. Jacobin, Which is, amusingly, Chomsky’s approving restatement of media criticism. The media is not above criticism, of course, but it is unusual for media criticism to so completely violate a very basic standard: ensuring that the subject of the obituary is actually dead before its publication.

Publications often write obituaries of notable people in advance. (For example, one of the writers of Henry Kissinger’s obituary the new York Times He died before Kissinger Sometimes, these obituaries are published by mistake, as Bloomberg Steve Jobs obituary in 2008Usually, these mistakes are rolled back, because The New Statesman There was an article.

When contacted for comment, Chibber told me via email, “I have just written this article. I have no role in its creation or publication.”

Jacobin There has been no response to a request for comment.