Michael Jackson is not still alive, despite what you may see on YouTube

Who says the Germans have no sense humor? First they gave us bratwurst, then Heidi Klum, and now this great Michael Jackson hoax video. German TV station RTL produced the clip, which shows a King of Pop imposter exiting a coroner's van. The station tells CNN: "We sent out a press release before we did the video to alert everyone that it was fake, but once posted it spread really fast." Yeah, big surprise there. The video has well over 1 million views on YouTube, and people are still energetically debating its merits, even though it was uploaded under the user name "michaeljacksonhoax." RTL says it was just an "experiment" to warn the public not to believe everything they see on the Web. Well, I read that explanation on the Web and I'm not believing it. I suspect the desire for free publicity also played a part. Jim Morrison agrees with me. He works here in the mailroom. Man, that old guy likes to party. Not much of a singer, though.

—Posted by David Gianatasio