Conspiracy theorists are now making a twist on the death of country singer Joe Diffie in an effort to promote their claims that health officials are exaggerating the threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic according to the reports of Time and Billboard. Diffie died last March 29 due to the complications from COVID-19 at the age of 61. He was added to the list of musicians who died during the pandemic. Diffie was survived by his wife and seven children from his previous marriages.
The Claim and Rejection
After his death, many social media users, particularly on Facebook and Twitter, posing like unknown commenters made a claim that Diffie died of lung cancer. But the picture they got was from an online obituary of Diffie's father Joe Sr. who died on November 2018 due to lung cancer. Joe Diffie, the one who died from the virus, was Joe Diffie Jr.
The claim was twisted to support the statement that health officials, government leaders, and media organizations made the pandemic sensational. They said that the mentioned organizations made overreactions about the danger of the virus where more than two million are now being infected all across the globe.
Tara Terpening Diffie posted on Instagram about the conspiracy and plead them to stop making claims about her husband's death. In her statement, she hoped to "set the records straight" about Diffie's death so that they can grieve on his passing and celebrate his legacy
"There have been some untrue statements about my late husband that are false and hurtful," she said on Instagram. "Joe did not have lung cancer and was a healthy, loving father, husband and friend. He also kept a very busy touring schedule and loved his fans who've supported him all these years."
Diffie's Sales
Just days after his death, Diffie made a huge comeback in terms of sales, according to Billboard. His songs debuted on top ten Country Digital Song Sales by Billboard last April 11.
His single "John Deere Green" that got the fifth spot on the Hot Country Songs in 1994 made second on the list with 7,000 sold in the week ending on April 2, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. His other single "Pickup Man" was also included on the list at fifth an place after selling 6,000 units. Another Diffie song, "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" placed seventh on the same list.
Within a week after Diffie's death, "Pickup Man" was his most streamed song, 2.9 million streams in the United States. "John Deere Green" came in second with 2.3 million streams, followed by "Prop Me Up" with 1.8 million streams.
His album "16 Biggest Hits," which was released in 2002, made the fourth spot on the Top Country Album list with 4,000 units sold.
COVID-19 Update
According to Worldometers.info, and Johns Hopkins University, there are now 880,000 cases in the U.S. as of writing. Over 50,000 patients have died, while more than 85,000 have recovered. There cases worldwide have hit the 2.7 million-mark, with more than 191,000 deaths, and over 755,000 recoveries.
