Twitter hoax targets 'Navy SEAL' who 'killed bin Laden

For whatever reason, someone thought it would be fun to get their name re-tweeted by tricking the Twitterverse into thinking that the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden had been killed in combat today. They named the anonymous figure "Todd Jones" and spread this message about him around Twitter:

R.I.P. Todd Jones. The Navy Seal that killed Osama Bin Laden died in battle today. Retweet to honor him.

— Deep Wizdom (@DeepWizdom) August 20, 2012

If you see a similar tweet floating around cyberspace today, don't believe it, reports the Navy Times.

The hoax claims that “Navy SEAL Todd Jones,” the man responsible for bin Laden’s death, has now been killed in combat. First off, the name of the SEAL who shot Osama has never been released. Second, an official from Navy Personnel Command told Navy Times that there is no SEAL named Todd Jones in their database.

The Navy SEAL death hoax comes about a week after false rumors of form British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's death were spread around Twitter in a similar fashion.