As the rumor has it, he was killed in Ukrainian bunker struck by a Russian missile. There have been a number of such rumored strikes over time and it does not seem surprising, but how are we to decide? Well, this was posted on r/conspiracy today in the wake of the rumor:

Is Loyd Austin Dead ? (1/8/2024)

The top-voted comment, the one that will be read by almost everyone who opens the post, says:

The info you shared is all wrong. He was not in Ukraine when he got hospitalised. But in the US.

The problem? The inept Cognitive Warrior that created the post just put in a stock picture of Austin and forgot to include a link or any text. There's no mention of the rumor or anything else at all.

But the first fake commenter replies as if the rumor was there instead of, "WTF does this mean? Why do you think he's dead. It's just a pic of him." So there's your tip-off. Then the lame OP replies to that comment with:

I am sure it is just clickbait and that he will show up at a presser relatively soon. Just wanted to see what the conspiracy community says about this.

To get what we're seeing, we would have to believe that the OP then--for some bizarre and unknowable reason--went back to the original post and just deleted all the text. Technically possible, but I'd sooner buy in to the adventures of Bob Lazar.

Final observation: Did you note the spelling errors and funky grammar to make it all seem more legit? Nice touch, right?

EDIT: If you're looking for at least some account of the circumstances, this is the only one I know of (from what many consider a fictional news site), so FWIW:

Russian Claim: Austin Dead In Ukraine (RRN 1/7/2024)