Reading a news story about your own death may sound like the plot of a Stephen King novel, but for Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain it was very much real life.

SEE ALSO: Facebook has quietly rolled out its long-awaited solution to fake news

The TV star is currently in Australia for a few days performing stand-up.

Tweet may have been deleted

On Wednesday, though, one of his fans alerted him to some alarming news from back home.

Tweet may have been deleted

Yep: according to the "News 360", Ó Briain had died "in a tragic car crash" back in Dublin.

Eh? Credit: meganews360

"An Irish stand up-comedian and television presenter, Dara Ó Briain passed away early hours of this morning after the vehicle he was travelling with fell into a ravine along the Patrick Street in Dublin city centre after colliding with a government vehicle," reads the first paragraph of the story.

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Ó Briain's response was on-point.

Tweet may have been deleted

So what's actually going on with that news article, then?

Well from the looks of "News 360", it appears to be one of a growing number of sites that generate fake news stories in what's presumably an attempt to target SEO traffic and local shares.

Searching the site name and the term "tragic car crash" brings up a number of similar stories, for instance.

Credit: google

It's a strange world.

[H/T The Daily Edge.]

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