Without having read any of the "x is dead" articles in question, I assume it's just a snowclone title used to draw in readers. "dead" simply means "less alive than (it used to be/some people think it is/it ought to be if it wants to grow stronger)".
Some of these articles will probably be worth reading, others will just be publicity grabbers. But that's orthogonal to the title.
X is Dead.
X Considered Harmful.
Why X is the next Y.
How X dies.
Just in case anyone is still using X for Y
X doesn't know Y, does something that sounds shocking
X or Y concerning Lisp
Is X a systemic risk?
Any others? I wonder how the Y Combinator story generator would differ from the Slashdot one?
Some of these articles will probably be worth reading, others will just be publicity grabbers. But that's orthogonal to the title.