How many names on the lists are based on verifiable deaths versus rumors or duplications?
Executive summary
There is no way to state a precise number of names on “the lists” that are verifiable deaths versus rumors or duplications without cross‑checking each entry against official death records; the authoritative repositories for that work are state vital records and the National Death Index (NDI), and independent studies show substantial non‑matches when identifying data are incomplete [1] [2] [3]. What can be offered is a forensic framework and evidence about common failure modes—missing identifiers, provisional versus final records, obituary gaps, and duplicate local/state records—that explain why lists often contain a mix of verified deaths, unverified reports, and duplicated entries [4] [5] [6].
1. What the question really asks and what evidence would be required
The user is asking for a count of entries that are definitively deceased versus those that are likely rumors or duplicates, which requires direct linkage of each name to an official death verification (death certificate, state verification letter, or a match in the NDI); without that per‑name matching, any numerical claim is speculative [1] [2] [7].
2. What counts as a “verifiable death” under public‑records practice
A verifiable death in U.S. public‑records practice is typically demonstrated by a certified death certificate or an official state death verification letter that includes name, date of death and county, or a confirmed NDI match; provisional datasets and press indexes can be helpful but are not substitutes for final vital records [7] [1] [4].
3. How reliable the centralized and local databases are—and why matches fail
The NDI centralizes state death filings but depends on the completeness of state submissions and matching identifiers; independent evaluations find that when identifying details such as Social Security numbers are missing, NDI match rates fall dramatically (one study cited a 63% match rate to state‑verified deaths and only 10% for deaths not verified in state data when SSNs were absent) and hospital EHR lists can include a small but real share of unmatched “deaths” [3] [2].
4. Common sources of rumors, duplications, and provisional errors on lists
Lists compiled from social media, early news reports, or preliminary (provisional) data commonly pick up unverified claims, duplicate reports of the same death across jurisdictions, and entries that later vanish from final mortality files—CDC/NCHS explicitly distinguishes provisional “in progress” records from final, fully verified mortality data that states submit after review [4] [6].
5. Practical steps to convert a list into counts of verified vs unverified
The rigorous path is name-by-name verification: check state vital‑records offices for certified death certificates or verification letters (which list name, date and county) and run names against the NDI or Social Security Death Master File exchanges where available; where identifiers are incomplete, expect reduced match rates and document uncertainty rather than presume death or life [7] [1] [8].
6. What the available reporting allows the public to conclude now
Based on the sources supplied, it is not possible to assert how many names on any unspecified list are verifiable deaths versus rumors/duplicates without performing the outlined verifications; published evidence shows verification is doable but imperfect—missing identifiers and overlapping local/state records routinely produce non‑matches and duplicate entries, so lists will almost always be a mixed bag until each row is reconciled with state or NDI records [3] [6] [4].