The Princess Diana hoax everyone is falling for

The 80-year-old retired MI5 agent, John Hopkins, had been told he had just weeks to live, so decided to reveal that the royal family had hired him to assassinate Princess Diana in 1997.

Yep. 

The bizarre claims, which totalled in 23 assassinations for British intelligence, were published on the online website YourNewsWire.

John was, apparently, part of a cell of seven operatives who were trusted to carry out political assassinations across the UK with most victims being politicians, activists, journalists and union leaders.

Princess Diana was the only woman John claims to have assassinated. And it was the only job to come direct from the royal family.

Side note: We're laughing out loud now.

Though no details - such as when the confession was made or how the actual assassination of the royal took place - and no credible news source confirmed the story, it quickly spread like wildfire.  

However, the story has now been officially confirmed as fake news. 

RELATED: The death of Mr Bean and other times the Internet was lying to you

Want to know how to avoid falling for these made up articles in the future? Firstly, always ensure the website is credible and that other credible news outlets are reporting on it. Something as big as someone admitting to killing Princess Diana would have beeneverywhere, if true.

Secondly, make sure the details are clear: there's a quoted source, dates and times. 

And thirdly, if it sounds absolutely CRAZY, spoiler alert: It probably is.

This article first published on Marie Claire.