A HOAX claiming Saved By The Bell star Dustin Diamond was killed in a prison riot has gone viral.
A screenshot of a news story that claims Diamond was killed in prison aged 43 has been widely shared on social media.
The story, intended to be satirical, has been taken seriously by a number of social media users.
The fake "Ringsssss" story claims Diamond was jailed after he attacked someone for heckling him during a performance at a comedy club.
Ringsssss is a satirical news site that uses fictional names in their stories "except in cases when public figures are being satirized".
According to the joke article, Diamond had two months left of his sentence when he was killed during a riot on October 3.
Fans of Saved By the Bell speculated on Twitter as to whether their beloved TV favorite had actually died.
"There are rumors that Dustin Diamond has passed away. Is it true?" one user wrote.
"Screech from Saved by the Bell is dead?!" another tweeted.
"RIP Dustin Diamond," one wrote.
In reality, Diamond is still alive.
The 43-year-old played Samuel "Screech" Powers in the 1990s hit comedy Saved By The Bell.
He also appeared in movies like American Pie and Big Fat Liar.
He was jailed for four months in Wisconsin in 2016 after being convicted for disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon.
He was released a month early, but later returned to prison for a probation violation. He stayed behind bars for another two days.
In December 2014, Dustin was arrested after being involved in a bar brawl that resulted in a man being stabbed.
NBC announced on September 29 that they were filming a reboot of Saved By the Bell which will premiere on Peacock on November 25.
Dustin -who played Screech Powers in the series for 10 years – admitted that he was annoyed to have been left out of the reboot.
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