See, this is why you are supposed to have (at least) two independent sources before you report something as news. And the social media creature that is the world today is so good at becoming an echo chamber that just because "a lot of people" are saying something doesn't make it legit.
I really loved the episode of The Newsroom that covered this, if only because the hunt for a second source had such a hilarious conclusion. But the point stands that if you're dealing with people's lives, you shouldn't just be tossing stuff out there based on "stuff you heard" second hand.