Seinfeld star survives internet death hoax

Former Seinfeld star Wayne "Newman" Knight is alive and well — despite what you may have read online.

Reports of Knight's death swept the internet early Monday morning, Australia time, claiming the 58-year-old actor had been killed in a traffic accident on the state border between New York and Pennsylvania.

The reports, which said Knight's car had been hit by a semitrailer, stemmed from websites mocked up to resemble reputable gossip sites such TMZ and Us magazine.

The false stories included locations, names of police officers who supposedly attended the scene and even tweets from "witnesses" of the crash, reports the New York Post.

But Knight quashed the bizarre news via Twitter, where news of his death briefly made him one of the site's trending topics.

"Some of you will be glad to hear this, others strangely disappointed, but... I am alive and well!" he posted.

"Does someone have to DIE to trend? Geez!"

Death hoaxes have become increasingly popular in recent years thanks to the rise of social media, with stars including Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby falling victim to rumours they had died

In February, news of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death was muddied by reports falsely claiming the actor was simply a victim of a death hoax.