Nelson Mandela Twitter death hoax 5 reading now South Africa braces for worst with Mandela Former South African President Nelson Mandela is in hospital for second day with a lung infection, as newspapers and the government suggest this time may be more serious. Nelson Mandela has become the latest victim of a celebrity death hoax, with Twitter buzzing with the incorrect information that the former South African president had died in his sleep. In fact, Mandela remains in hospital in Pretoria with a lung infection and is in a "serious but stable condition," according to the latest information from South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma. But a Twitter account imitating that of CNN host Piers Morgan tweeted the incorrect "breaking news" that the apartheid leader had died. Still in hospital: Nelson Mandela. "Nelson Mandela's spokesman has confirmed the tragic news that the former leader died earlier this afternoon in his sleep," read the tweet. It was quickly re-tweeted more than 1300 times. But a closer look at the account, which carries the same Twitter image as Morgan's, reveals that it is a parody account using the handle @piersrnorgan. The same account tweeted in March: "BREAKING: @CNN have received the terrible news from his office that Nelson Mandela died peacefully earlier this afternoon. #RIP" Mandela, 94, was taken to a Pretoria hospital early on Saturday in a serious but stable condition, suffering from a lung infection. South Africans are beginning to come to terms with the mortality of their first black president and father of the "Rainbow Nation," following a string of health scares in recent months. The Sunday Times newspaper has carried a front-page picture of the beloved elder statesman smiling and waving under the headline: "It's time to let him go." It is the fourth hospital stay since December for the Nobel peace prize laureate, who turns 95 next month, after he was discharged in April following treatment for pneumonia. smh.com.au with AFP