No, the guy with ALS who inspired the ice-bucket challenge is not dead

The man who helped raise over US$100million to combat the neurodegenerative disease ALS by encouraging millions of people to pour icy buckets of water over their heads is still alive, despite reports to the contrary, and has posted a video to Twitter to prove it.

Peter Frates, 32, posted a 45-second video of himself in a hospital bed while Pearl Jam’s Alive played in the background on social media on Monday, writing: “In the words of my friend ed,” presumably a reference to Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder.

Frates was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease and referred to in Britain as motor neurone disease, in 2012. There is currently no cure for the disease, and the ALS ice bucket challenge sought to raise money to fund research into a cure.

Celebrities including Anna Wintour, Tom Cruise and Shakira participated in the challenge after it went viral in 2014. It raised more than US$115million for ALS research.

Frates’s family said in a Facebook post on Sunday that he had returned to the hospital for treatment of the disease.

The next day, multiple newspapers announced Frates had died.