Fake news writer Paul Horner, who took credit for Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, has died at age 38.
Horner was found dead in his bed on Sept. 18, possibly of a drug overdose, The New York Times reported. His family reportedly told police he had abused prescription drugs previously, and evidence found at the scene suggested an accidental overdose. No signs of foul play were found.
Horner wrote stories on fake news sites that were intended to be satirical, but were often taken at face value and shared on Facebook, the Times reported. He often used a fake byline, Jimmy Rustling, for his stories.
Some of Horner’s more popular stories were that former President Barack Obama was gay and a Muslim, and that protesters were being paid $3,500 to protest at Trump’s campaign rallies prior to the election.
Horner declared in an interview with The Washington Post last November that his fake news stories had gotten Trump elected.
“I think Trump is in the White House because of me,” Horner told the Post. “His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything.”
Both Google and Facebook have tried to squash fake news stories on their sites and search results, and Google has tried to remove its AdSense program from fake news sites after the popularity of some of Horner’s articles, the Post noted.
Horner said he did not support Trump in the election and was saddened to think that his articles may have helped Trump get elected, the Post reported.
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