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\n\tTrue or false: In the aftermath of conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a>\u2019s death<\/a>, the rock & roll world has gathered in grief, with leading figures including Bruce Springsteen<\/a>, Bob Dylan<\/a>, and members of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones eulogizing him, dedicating songs to him, and even breaking down onstage upon hearing the news of his murder.<\/p>\n \n\tFalse, of course \u2014 none of those things happened. But if one were to scroll through Facebook without thinking too hard, one could be fooled into thinking it was true.<\/p>\n \n\tOn any number of social media sites, you may encounter an AI<\/a>-generated image of a forlorn Springsteen placing flowers<\/a> at a makeshift Kirk memorial, or a fake post about how Robert Plant interrupted<\/a> his show in Nashville to dedicate a performance of \u201cGod Bless America\u201d to Kirk. In a supposed moment onstage in New York, Mick Jagger is said to have announced<\/a> \u201cThis one\u2019s for you, Charlie\u201d \u2014 sorry, Watts<\/a>, not you \u2014 and sang \u201cAngie\u201d in Kirk\u2019s memory. (Wait \u2014 \u201cAngie\u201d?) Informed in the middle of his own gig that Kirk was dead, Bob Dylan, according to another meme<\/a>, intoned, \u201cThis one\u2019s for him\u201d and launched into a version of \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind.\u201d There\u2019s even an oddly synthetic-looking photo of a distraught Dylan to prove it!<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking of Dylan, in another fake meme, he\u2019s even part of a bizarre supergroup \u2014 Dylan, Tom Jones, Dolly Parton, and Reba McEntire all singing together during an imaginary tribute to the assassinated activist. In another gathering, Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and pop crooner Michael Bubl\u00e9 are seen harmonizing together in Kirk\u2019s memory. Perhaps even more troublingly, Springsteen also stars in a post that claims he made a provocative statement after Kirk\u2019s death: \u201cIf you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind words when you\u2019re alive.\u201d In fact, he never said anything like that; those words were posted by Dwayne Johnson\u2019s daughter, wrestler Ava Raine, and drew significant backlash<\/a>. <\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tThe ghoulish trend is an outgrowth of an outpouring of AI-generated rock memes<\/a> that have been popping up on a slew of social media sites in the last few months. As Rolling Stone<\/em> reported <\/a>last month, many of the fraudulent \u201cphotos\u201d and stories play off the fact that classic rockers are aging or falling ill. If one were to believe the fake art, everyone from Mick Jagger to Steven Tyler has visited Phil Collins in the hospital; Springsteen gave a haircut to bed-ridden comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke; and every rock star over the age of 70 helped bury Ozzy Osbourne. None of it is true. As social-media marketing executive Justin Grome told RS<\/em>, \u201cThese types of posts definitely tap into nostalgia, and people want to believe these types of things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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