Claim: American professor, linguist and activist Noam Chomsky has died.
Fact: Chomsky is alive. His wife refuted reports of his death, clarifying that he was hospitalised in Sao Paulo, Brazil but has now been discharged.
On 19 June 2024, X (formerly Twitter) user @NiohBerg claimed that American professor, linguist and intellectual Noam Chomsky had died.
Her post reads,
“Noam Chomsky, one of the worst people on the planet, is finally dead at 95.
Social media, particularly X, was abuzz with rumors of his death. Some media publications also went on to report his death and posted obituaries.
Noam Chomsky
Chomsky, the world’s most cited living author and a pioneering linguist, has long been a prominent voice in global discourse despite facing health challenges in recent years. At 95 years old, Chomsky, residing in Sao Paulo, Brazil since 2015, suffered a medical event that temporarily affected his ability to communicate.
Renowned for his groundbreaking theories in linguistics, Chomsky first gained fame at the age of 29 with his seminal work “Syntactic Structures,” which revolutionised the understanding of language acquisition. Beyond linguistics, Chomsky has been a relentless critic of colonialism, neoliberal economics, wars, and corporate influence, drawing equal ire from defenders of capitalism and authoritarian socialism alike. His activism transcends academia, as evidenced by his imprisonment for opposing the Vietnam War and his influential critique of mass media in “Manufacturing Consent,” co-authored with Edward S. Herman.
Despite retiring from MIT in 2002, where he taught for over four decades, Chomsky continues to inspire new generations through his prolific writings and online presence, engaging millions on platforms like YouTube with his incisive analyses of global affairs. While his current health limits his public engagements, Chomsky is known for intellectual dissent and critical inquiry, challenging established norms and advocating for justice and equity worldwide.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be false. A keyword search on Google led us to an article by the Associated Press (AP). The report stated that his wife, Valeria Wasserman Chomsky, has denied reports of 95-year-old Noam Chomsky’s death. Responding to an email query from the AP regarding the reports, she stated, “No, it is false.”
Valeria had also informed the publication earlier that Chomsky was hospitalised in Brazil while recovering from a stroke he suffered a year ago.
Chomsky has been discharged from the Beneficencia Portuguesa Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he had been receiving treatment for some time. The hospital announced that Chomsky would continue his treatment at home. The couple owns a home in Sao Paulo.
According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, Chomsky was recently admitted to a hospital in the city after suffering a stroke a year ago, which left him with difficulty in speaking and moving the right side of his body.
Virality:
The New Statesman, a British political and cultural news magazine, had published an article with the headline “The Noam Chomsky I Knew,” and the American socialist magazine Jacobin had posted an article titled “We Remember Noam Chomsky.” However, both obituaries have since been taken down.
The claim can be found here, here, here, here and here on X.
The tweet by @NiohBerg received significant traction with 261,000 views, 4,800 likes and 548 reposts.
It was also posted here, here and here on Facebook.
Conclusion: Noam Chomsky is not dead. His wife refuted the reports, explaining that he was hospitalised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while recovering from a stroke he suffered a year ago. Chomsky has now been discharged and will continue his treatment at home.
Background image in cover photo: AFP
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