Rumors of Cher's death appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

Grief stricken Cher fans misunerstood a hashtag circulating on social media site Twitter on Monday, that read #nowthatchersdead, believing the 66-year-old "Believe" singer had died.

"So sad to hear Cher is dead," Twitter user Jim Donaldson wrote Monday morning at 8 a.m., starting the rumor mill churning.

The incident displayed the danger in getting your news from Twitter hashtags.

What Donaldson and several other shocked Cher fans read as "Now that Cher is dead," was actually supposed to mean "Now Thatcher is dead."

The hashtag originated from a Twitter account associated with the British website Is Thatcher Dead Yet?

"Margaret Thatcher is dead," wrote site creators Jared Earle and Antonio Lulic on the website's main page on Monday. "This lady's not returning. How are you celebrating? Let us know using the #nowthatchersdead hashtag on Twitter, or get to one of the parties near you."

Comedian Ricky Gervais attempted to sort out distraught Cher fans who thought their hero had died.

"Some people are in a frenzy over the hashtag #nowthatchersdead," Gervais tweeted, 90 minutes after Donaldson's tweet. "It's 'Now Thatcher's dead'. Not, 'Now that Cher's dead,' JustSayin."

User Liz Buckley believes the tweet was misleading.

"#Nowthatchersdead is a very confusing hashtag for Cher fans," she tweeted a half-hour after the confusion began.

Twitter user Sam Wolk made a solid point about the hashtag hoopla.

"People's confusion could be resolved by strategic capitalization. #NowThatchersDead," Wolk tweeted.