You will have already heard the news of Michael Jackson’s death from sources other than myself. I had hoped to refrain from commenting as there won’t be any news in the story for a few weeks, though likewise there won’t be any other stories in the news.

Already in the top Guardian stories:

• Michael Jackson has died
• Police focus on doctor who was with Michael Jackson as he died
• Michael Jackson death: painkillers may have been factor

What did catch my eye though, was a statement from Twitter:

Immediately, there was an outcry on the Internet. “Why is Miliband commenting?” “Degradation of politics!” “As bad as Brown calling Susan Boyle!”

Calm down dear, it’s a hoax. The “real” Foreign Secretary later posted this on his blog:

The death of Michael Jackson is very sad news for his family, friends and fans.  My thoughts are with his family at this time.

But the instant Twitter put out in my name last night was not me.

Admittedly, this probably earned a great deal many more hits than his regular blog posts.

Really though, it goes to show how desperate the media is for any scraps of news on this pretty empty story (empty of details, not of significance, I hasten to add.) The press was all too keen to run with the story, not realising it was a joke until the Foreign Secretary’s next tweet:

CNN has basically become an mj-only version of mtv!

This is why I am glad it’s a hoax, for I don’t want the Foreign Secretary A) to get his news from CNN and B) to have any idea what MTV is.

Another non-story then, though still people persit with inane show-off comments on DM’s blog.

S0 what better excuse to add this little piece of self-promotion?