There is no credible evidence available to confirm the claim that Simon Cowell died in Chicago.
Current information surrounding America’s Got Talent also points in the opposite direction. NBC has been promoting the 2026 season of the program, with Season 21 continuing through the summer and the live shows approaching in August. NBC’s current coverage describes the new season and its upcoming competition.
Recent online discussion about the 2026 season has also continued to refer to Cowell’s participation in the program and to his decisions during the show’s new Judges Callbacks format.
That does not prove that every social-media post about him is legitimate. It does, however, demonstrate why a sensational death headline should not be accepted without confirmation from authoritative sources.
If a major television personality such as Simon Cowell had genuinely died unexpectedly, the news would normally be accompanied by authoritative reporting and confirmation from credible sources, not merely an emotionally charged social-media post.
Why People Believe Celebrity Death Hoaxes
Celebrity death hoaxes are not new.
The internet has made them much easier to create and distribute, however.
A person can take an old photograph, add a dramatic caption, invent a date and location, and upload the result to social media. If even a small number of people share it, the story can reach thousands or millions of viewers.
The person who sees the post next may assume:
“If so many people are sharing this, it must be true.”
But that assumption is dangerous.
Social media measures engagement, not truth.
A false story can receive more attention than a true story simply because it is shocking. A boring correction may receive very few shares, while an alarming headline can travel rapidly.
This creates a particularly powerful cycle.
First, someone creates a false claim.
Second, people become shocked by it.
