Mungo MacCallum's death 'greatly exaggerated' on social media

All it took was a single tweet to kill off journalist Mungo MacCallum on Monday, who was instead sitting in a Mullumbimby cafe sipping on a coffee.

While it might be water-cooler chatter to speculate on your own eulogy, MacCallum could watch tributes in real-time as false news of his death emerged on Twitter.

MacCallum, who was once described by Gough Whitlam as a "tall, bearded descendant of lunatic aristocrats", has been recovering after undergoing surgery earlier this year.

The online grapevine grew from a lone tweet sent by MacCallum's friend, journalist Anne Summers.

Meanwhile, the celebrated political commentator was relaxing with his wife in a cafe seemingly unaware of the online eulogies pouring in on social media.

But before MacCallum had a chance to sit back and see what fans and foes had to say about his passing, the news was cleared up by a regret-filled post from Summers.

If there was any doubt, the man himself was happy to pose for a proof-of-life photograph with today's newspaper.

The #RIP and #VALE hashtags soon gave way to a triumphant #MungoLives tag, which went on to trend on social media.

Within minutes, comparisons to Mark Twain were surfacing and we all learnt that reports of MacCallum's death were indeed greatly exaggerated.

News break - September 9