Siri keeps telling you all Stan Lee is dead. We can confirm he is not
That'll teach you for trusting a robot
Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man and countless other comic book characters, and one of the nicest men in showbusiness, is not dead. This we know. But why do we need to tell you this? Well, because if you’d asked Siri how the Marvel honcho was doing recently, you might have got the following response:
“Stan Lee died on July 2, 2018.”
It’s unclear how many people actually asked it this (is that what people use Siri for?), but this was the answer that was given enough times for people to kick up a stink. So how did it happen?
It’s all down to Wikipedia, from which which Siri appears to glean its info, somewhat worryingly. A user named “&beer&love“, changed Lee’s Wiki page and added a date of death for some reason - and then Siri duly served this incorrect information to anyone that felt the need to ask.
The mistake has obviously been corrected now, and the user’s page has been deleted, but the fact still remains that Siri is using Wikipedia for its fact-checking, a website that can be altered by anyone. Maybe best not to trust what’s coming out of that invisible mouth, eh?
Really though, this is the last thing Lee needs on his plate, as he’s been having a hard time of it lately - he’s currently involved in a dispute with his former company POW! Entertainment, claiming he was tricked into signing away his likeness. We’re talking a $1 billion lawsuit here, one which alledges POW! were trying to “fraudulently steal Lee’s identity, name, image and likeness as part of a nefarious scheme to benefit financially at [his] expense”.
His declining health has no doubt not helped matters at all, something which the comic community at large has noticed - Kevin Smith even offered to put Lee up in his own home:
Still, at least we know that Stan Lee is alive, and this is great news - if there’s any justice in this world, that man should live forever.
(Image: Getty)
