The hoax started when Baywatch star Donna D'Errico tweeted the following on popular social networking website Twitter:
"7th Heaven" actor had shot himself to death in his Los Angeles home.
That guy from 7th Heaven lives around the corner from me & just shot himself a few minutes ago"
She later removed the tweet but it was already retweeted or reposted by thousands of users on Twitter.
But, several hours after, Donna D'Errico tweeted or posted the following on Twitter, apologizing for spreading the rumor of Stephen Collins' death:
"I just tweeted what I was being told by my neighbor who were on scene. I apologize for tweeting what I'd heard before confirming it"
So, please remember that not everything that you read on the internet is true. Donna D'Errico has taught us it is important to verify the authenticity of information before posting it on social networking websites or the rest of the internet.