Social media users are sharing a screenshot of an article that appears to report that Saved by the Bell actor Dustin Diamond was killed in prison. Diamond is not dead. The shared article is meant to be satirical.
Some people appeared to believe the report might be accurate. Examples are visible here and here .
The article in question, headlined “Saved By The Bell’s, Dustin “Screech” Diamond Killed In Prison Riot At Age 43” here , appeared on the website Ringsssss.
In its ‘About Us’ section ringsssss.com/about-us/ , Ringsssss describes itself as a “fabricated satirical newspaper and comedy website” that uses fictional names in its stories “except in cases when public figures are being satirized.”
The death of a public figure like this would have gathered significant attention and would have been reported by news organizations. Aside from the satirical article, Reuters found no other report.
Diamond played socially awkward but brainy student Samuel “Screech” Powers, memorable for his dark and wiry hair, on the NBC sitcom “Saved by the Bell,” which ran from 1989 to 1993.
In December 2015, Diamond was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct. He began serving a four-month jail sentence in the Ozaukee County Jail, Wisconsin on Jan. 15, 2016 and was released a month early in April here .
Diamond returned to the Wisconsin jail on May 25, 2016 for a probation violation here . The Hollywood Reporter here said he stayed there for two days.
VERDICT
Satire. The article saying actor Dustin Diamond is dead was meant to be satirical.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.