Holy shit i just saw this on Reddit…real or bullshit?
It’s entirely real. Snopes even has an article on it, if you feel like checking it out.
In the summer of 2020, we received multiple inquiries from readers about a collage of social media posts that appeared to show the public pronouncements of Ohio man Richard Rose. One image appears to be a screenshot of a Facebook post by Rose, vowing not to wear a face mask in the context of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while a later image appears to be a screenshot of his obituary, which states that he died on July 4 “due to complications of COVID-19.”
The story was reported by national and international news outlets, and the collage of Rose’s Facebook posts was presented by some internet users as a stark warning for those who failed to take seriously the risk of spreading and contracting the virus, and in particular, the effectiveness of wearing face masks. However, some expressed skepticism about the story, claiming that Rose was a crisis actor, and that the circumstances of his death, and his earlier social media posts, amounted to a hoax.
But the posts and obituary were authentic. Richard Donald Rose III, known as Rick, died on July 4 after suffering complications from COVID-19, with which he was diagnosed three days earlier. Two months earlier, he had indeed vowed not to wear a face mask, dismissing their use as “hype.” Three weeks before his passing, Rose did visit a holiday resort in Ohio, posting a photograph of a crowded swimming pool area there.