Michael Jackson’s death at the age of 50 in June 2009 shocked thousands of fans worldwide but others are asking whether it was all an elaborate show.

Jackson conspiracy theorists, known as “believers”, have long claimed that the singer is still alive, having faked his own death.\

In early 2017, investment banker David Dunn took the stand in the US Tax Court in Los Angeles and said Jackson was “on the edge” of going bankrupt before his death – fuelling theories that the pop legend may simply have changed his identity in order to escape his financial problems.

In July last year, Hollywood hairdresser Steve Erhardt, who was a close friend of Jackson, claimed he had information about the star that “not even the family knows”.

In a post on Facebook, Erhardt wrote: “A tip for the believers, the Michael Jackson believers. You heard it here first, an announcement of sorts.

And in a couple of months, or latest at the end of the year, you will be receiving some very good news. It’s almost unbelievable. And not even the family knows… but I do.”

No more news was forthcoming from Erhardt, but believers insist Jackson must simply have decided to remain in hiding.

Jackson’s daughter thinks he was murdered

In 2017, Paris Jackson told Rolling Stone magazine that she was convinced her father had been murdered.

“All arrows point to that. It sounds like a total conspiracy theory and it sounds like bullshit, but all real fans and everybody in the family knows it. It was a set-up. It was bullshit,” she said.