Cormac McCarthy death wrongly reported after hoax account claims The Road author has died of a stroke

'Cormac McCarthy is alive and well and still doesn't care about Twitter'

Cormac McCarthy is alive and well (Getty Images)

Penguin has been forced to assure panicked Cormac McCarthy readers that he is alive, well and still doesn’t give a crap about Twitter after false claims of his death were reported on the network.

In yet another example of the dangers of reacting too quickly to information being circulated on social media, the celebrated author of The Road was reported to have died of a stroke aged 82 after an unverified account sent a tweet announcing his passing.

This tweet spread quickly enough to reach fellow American author Joyce Carol Oates, who shared a tribute with her followers praising McCarthy as a “visionary” writer.

The ‘news’ was also reported by USA Today on its Twitter feed. It has since issued a series of tweets confirming McCarthy is actually still alive after the 'Alfred A. Knopf News' account admitted it was a hoax.

Fans of Pulitzer-prize winning McCarthy can now breathe a big sigh of relief.

When contacted by the Independent, his evidently displeased literary agent said "internet brush fires are not uncommon" and urged outlets to verify information on social media before reporting it.