FACT CHECK: Did NBC News Report That The Creator Of The Crab Rangoon Died?

An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows an NBC News article about Kazuya Komodichi, the alleged “creator of the crab rangoon,” dying at the age of 107.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence that NBC News published the article. It appears to be fabricated.

Fact Check:  

Social media users have been sharing a screenshot of an alleged NBC News article about the death of Komodichi, who the headline alleges created the crab rangoon, a fried wonton appetizer primarily served at American Chinese restaurants. The purported article includes two images, one of an elderly Asian man and one of crab rangoons.

However, there is no evidence NBC News published the article. Check Your Fact searched NBC News’ website but found nothing resembling the alleged story. There are likewise no reports matching the viral image on NBC News’s verified social media accounts. It appears to be fabricated.

An internet search conducted on Google and DuckDuckGo did not yield any results for the man identified in the headline, with the exception of images of the fake NBC News article. There are several articles about the history of crab rangoon, including those from the Houston Press, Mashed and Atlas Obscura, none of which mention Komodichi.

The image of the Asian man featured in the Facebook post is from a stock photo that can be found on Adobe Stock. The picture is titled, “A very old Asian man talking happily while surrounded by his family.” (RELATED: Did CNN Air This Chyron About ‘Two Deadly Viruses’ Killing Nigerians?)

The post shared on Facebook appears to have originated as a joke. The logo for iFunny, a meme-sharing website, is visible in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture.

NBC News did not respond to a request for comment.