Fact Check: Is David Irving dead? Viral rumors about British historian and Holocaust denier debunked

On Tuesday, February 20, rumors began circulating online that British historian and Holocaust denier David Irving had died after falling ill in Florida last October. While his illness is reportedly true, David Irving is still alive, as confirmed by a February 21 tweet from his account that said he "remains with us, though, as many of you know, he is currently facing health challenges."

David Irving was once a famed and well-respected historian, but his career took a downturn as he was revealed to be a Holocaust denier. The 85-year-old was imprisoned for 13 months in Austria in 2006 for denying the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz.

His public support for Hitler and the Holocaust has led to him being barred from entering several countries, including Germany.

---

David Irving is currently alive, though ill

Irving was the latest victim to fall prey to death hoaxes when rumors of his demise circulated on social media on Tuesday. However, these rumors were quickly put to rest as Irving's X account was still active after his supposed demise, sending out this tweet:

Irving fell ill in Florida in October 2023 and was hospitalized for nearly two months. He reportedly requires "round-the-clock care," which was arranged "privately due to constraints with NHS services."

Hailing from Essex County, Irving is known for approximately 30 books he had written about World War II, most of which detailed Germany's side of history. He became widely credited as a World War II historian and an international bestseller.

However, his career took a hit after he published Hitler's War in 1977, a two-part biography about the war from Hitler's point of view, in which he claimed that the Nazi leader did not know about the Holocaust.

In 1988, he testified at Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel’s trial and claimed that fewer than six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. That same year, he was quoted disputing the Nazi's Final Solution plan, saying:

"I don't think there was any overall Reich policy to kill the Jews. If there was, they would have been killed and there would not be now so many millions of survivors. And believe me, I am glad for every survivor that there was."

In 1994, he famously sued author Deborah Lipstadt for calling him a Holocaust denier in one of her books and lost the lawsuit when the judge called him an “antisemitic and racist,” the Guardian reported.

---

Netizens react to David Irving's rumored death

According to David Irving's X account, the rumors were thought to have been started on X by @egavactip. The tweet by @egavactip, which has since been deleted, said:

"Far-right sources are reporting long-time British Holocaust denier David Irving (who had a home in Key West) has died. He'd been very ill for months. At one point, he was a pop historian who sold a lot of books, but as his Holocaust denial views emerged, publishers dropped him."

As the rumor went viral, netizens took to X to post their condolences, with several people tweeting "RIP."

Irving, who previously lived in the US, is currently recuperating in the UK due to his poor health.