This image was widely used as part of the infamous "Pinky Is Dead" conspiracy theory, in which the member of the famed foursome was thought to have died while crashing into a pole after swerving to avoid Ms. Pac-Man, only to be replaced by a body double in future installments of the classic arcade series. Other purported "evidence" of the hoax included clues in the lyrics to Pac-Man Fever and hidden messages encoded in Level 256.

Most of the theories eventually dissipated when everyone realized that ghosts cannot actually die.