LeBron James Mom Delonte West Email!

FAKE! That email about LeBron James’ mom and Delonte West is still spreading. The claim about LeBron James’ mom and Delonte West is fake, as reported Friday on LALATE.

But apparently, many are still believing the email.

Viral indicators Saturday still show people seeking answers about LeBron James’ mom and Delonte West less than 24 hours after a false email began landing into people’s inboxes on Friday. Not only is it bad news for the James family, but also bad news for other celebrities in what LALATE is predicting could be the new fake viral effort of 2010.

Midway through 2009 the net show the explosion of fake celebrity death reports. Initially they were believed. The fact pattern was the same - a plane or train or car crash. The victim was typically a rapper, or teen pop star. The assault usually took to Twitter and message boards first, typically on Sunday afternoons at 3 pm PST as LALATE reported extensively in 2009.

But this assault about LeBron James’ mom and Delonte West is being spread differently. First, it concerns not death, but dating. Second, it’s being spread by email, not through message boards. And third, it’s being use in a reactionary way. After LeBron’s failure at the end of the Celtics series, many asked what was bothering LeBron. Enter - the email.

With that, the email, its timing, its means of delivery, all seemed fresh. So how many more times will this assault succeed? “Dating” email viral efforts are not new. But this one is expected to repeat itself again with another celebrity.

The email claims an “exclusive” that Delonte West is “dating” Gloria James, LeBron’s mother. In fact, by some accounts, there are not just one but two different emails with the same ridiculously false claim arriving in people’s inboxes Friday. Unfortunately many are believing the emails apparently.

The first email starts:

“My uncle is the general contractor at the Q and has been for the last 7 years. He is good friends with a lot of guys at the Q including some of the bigger boys in the organization and knows … personally. I was just told from my brother that a very reliable source informed my uncle…”

The second email starts as the following “A large number of … employees received a VERY interesting email today regarding a developing LeBron James story. I figured before the …”

False. And if you wondering, none of the Jonas Brothers have died in a plane crash today, Miley Cyrus hasn’t died, and Lil Wayne is alive and well.