Story About “Chance” Gigi Hadid, Zayn Malik Will “Reunite Down The Line” Is Fake News

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In the wake of Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik announcing their split on Tuesday, HollywoodLife is doing what it so often does: It has taken that real news, and put its own spin on it with fake news. The site is in overdrive now in hopes of capitalizing on the breakup. Gossip Cop can bust one story in particular.

Shortly after The Sun broke the news that the couple had ended their relationship, Malik released a statement on Twitter. Hadid followed with her own Twitter statement less than 15 minutes later. For its part, HollywoodLife currently has five separate articles posted about the breakup, all in an effort to exploit the situation. One of the pieces is a blatant attempt to lure in fans with a phony exclusive.

The headline, which appears to be designed to game search engines, states, “Zayn Malik & Gigi Hadid’s Shocking Split: Why There’s A Chance They’ll Reunite ‘Down The Line.'” The premise is fairly simply: Though the couple has called it quits, they could get back together at some point. That’s true of a lot of breakups, especially those involving young celebrities. In fact, Hadid and Cody Simpson got back together several times before ultimately going their separate ways for good.

So it’s hardly surprising HollywoodLies, as it’s nicknamed, is pretending to have a “source close to the couple” expressing “hope” for Hadid and Malik’s future. “They are going to use this time to see if they should continue to be broken up or get back together down the line,” this almost assuredly fake inside is quoted as saying. This seemingly invented tipster goes on, “There is still a chance if they end up missing each other. So there is still hope.”

It’s quite obvious where this narrative came from. In addition to Hadid’s own history of being on-and-off with a former beau, as well as the frequency with which young stars split and get back together, the model herself alluded to the possibility when she ended her statement by expressing, “As for the future, whatever’s meant to be will always be.” What’s more is that in The Sun article detailing Hadid and Malik’s split, it was reported, “This is definitely the end for now…No one has completely ruled out a reunion in the future.”

HollywoodLies is not running similar assertions because it, too, has real inside knowledge about the couple. Rather, the online publication has apparently copied the original report and seemingly thinks its can get away with offering claims that sound reasonable. But this isn’t about informing readers. It’s about offering search engines content about a popular topic and attracting fans to increase traffic. That’s why whenever there’s a hot subject in the celebrity world, there is the site purporting to have insight.

Where was this insight last fall, when HollywoodLies was falsely claiming Hadid was desperate for Malik to propose? And if the website is so sure a reconciliation may happen, why is the blog also running a piece wondering if Malik has a “new crush” on Demi Lovato? The outlet is throwing a bunch of things at the wall, hoping it sticks. Don’t fall for the desperation.

(HL)

(HL)