San Francisco, Nov 2 (IANS): Sir Sean Connery never sent a typewritten letter to late Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs in 1998 refusing to be in an Apple ad, and a fake such letter made the rounds on social media after his death.
The typewritten letter purports to show Connery's outrage over Jobs asking him to appear in an Apple commercial.
"I do not sell my soul for Apple or any other company. I have no interest in ‘changing the world' as you suggest," it states. "You are a computer salesman, I am f****** JAMES BOND!"
The letter was actually part of a satirical article on humour site Scoopertino.
"There's no fewer than a half-dozen red flags that stood out immediately here, and it's worrisome that someone who runs a reputable journo lab isn't immune to whatever else drives boomers to amplify fake stuff on social media", wrote one Twitter user to author-producer Jonathan Taplin who was among those who posted the letter.
Steven Levy, Editor at Large at Wired, responded to Taplin: "Jon, I respect your views but please look at the research debunking this letter. It hurts us all when good people circulate fakes".
The same fake letter also went viral in 2011 when But British marketing executive John Willshire took the letter seriously and posted it on Twitter.
Legendary actor Sir Sean Connery passed away at the age of 90. The news of the Scottish star's demise was communicated by his family last weekend.
Connery, who is widely recalled as the original James Bond on Hollywood screen, had an active career as an actor spanning nearly five decades.