'Conspiracy theory' about Avril Lavigne's death is a hoax -- but creepily believable

A bizarre conspiracy theory claiming that pop star Avril Lavigne is long dead and was replaced by a lookalike has been making the rounds online.

The wild claim has existed since ages ago, but recently went viral again after being revived by Twitter user @givenchyass in a May 13 tweet that has since garnered over 128,000 retweets and more than 208,000 likes.

Although this has been debunked as a hoax, it has continued to circulate online, with many people falling for it because of how believable and creepily realistic it seems.

Check out screenshots of @givenchyass' full thread in the gallery above.