The Back To The Future star was memorialised in an article and video titled Remembering The Life Of Actor Michael J Fox which the broadcaster published online this week.
It prompted a surge of rumours suggesting he had passed away - but a representative for CNN has issued an apology and revealed the package was uploaded "in error".
A spokesperson for Fox also insisted the actor is fine, telling TMZ: "Michael is doing great. He was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and was giving interviews."
A CNN spokesperson explained: "The package was published in error; we have removed it from our platforms and send our apologies to Michael J Fox and his family."
Fox, 64, appeared in public on Tuesday at PaleyFest LA at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to celebrate the third season of hit comedy Shrinking in which the actor appears alongside Harrison Ford.
It comes after Fox recently opened up about the end of his life revealing he doesn't think about his legacy because it's "other people's business".
He told the Los Angeles Times: "I'll be dead. My late father-in-law wrote a book once called Die Broke. The theory being spend all your money now.
"I don't mean just money. Your gift, your nectar. Spend it all now, and spend it on your kids, on people you love. I don't think about legacy."
After being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Fox went on to establish his Michael J Fox Foundation - which is dedicated to finding a cure for the illness and has gone on to fund $US2 billion ($A2.8 billion) worth of research - and he said he knows that work will "continue" once he's passed.
"Certainly, the foundation will be around and our work will continue. It'd be nice to have it done before I die, but I don't know if that will happen. We're certainly getting closer," he said.
"Legacy is other people's business; my business is to live my best life, do the best I can, the best work I can ... and continue to write my story until the pin drops."
10°C