During his extraordinary career, short videos became essential to his stratospheric rise. But would a short video produced by someone else prove that the reports of his death were nothing more than his failed attempt at a final, show-stopping performance?

Two months after Jackson’s death, a video “proving” the death-hoax theory went viral online. It allegedly shows the singer alive and hopping out of the coroner’s van in an underground garage and being ushered quickly through a door. The footage—produced by German television station RTL—was immediately revealed to be faked with the purpose of showing just how quickly rumors can spread on the Internet.

The video was viewed almost 900,000 times in the first few days after its release and, despite the official statement from RTL, links to it are still posted on some websites as proof that Jackson lives.

On a website promoting the EmovieBook, Pseudocide: Did Michael Jackson Fake His Death to Save His Life? ,” author Pearl Jr. insists there are countless inconsistencies and clues that prove Jackson’s death was faked. The teaser clues on the site, however, are confusing and inconclusive.  Pearl Jr. draws a baffling link between the use of both “Joe” and “Joseph” for Jackson’s middle name on official documents with a McDonald’s billboard that reads, “If coffee is Joe, consider this Joseph.” Despite the spooky music accompanying a YouTube video of the billboard, this clue doesn’t add up.

The death-hoax theory gets an assist from the familiar photos of Jackson in public covering his face with a mask or sheer black cloth, and reports that he often stepped out in disguise while alive. The great numbers of Jackson impersonators, some bearing a remarkable resemblance to the pop icon, help bolster the theory as well. And then there was the London tabloid, News of the World, quoting Joe Jackson saying body doubles were used for rehearsal footage of his son in the movie, This Is It. Sony, which produced the film, vehemently denied the allegation.

More details about Jackson’s final moments will no doubt be revealed in the upcoming criminal trial of Dr. Murray, but the full truth of his final days is likely to remain shrouded in mystery.