Paul Horner
Paul Horner, a lead writer to fake news websites was found dead on Sept. 18. Horner who was found by authorities in his bed, was known for writing false stories. He was 38.
Reports say the Maricopa County medical examiner performed an autopsy which showed there were no signs of foul play.
Get to know him better in his top 10 facts below.
#1 Paul Horner took an interest in politics early on
Paul who was born January 2, 1979 in Minnesota and later moved as a teen to Arizona, began drawing and making political cartoons at a very young age and took an interest in politics.
#2 He had a unique eye for hoaxes
Some of his work included a story falsely claiming President Barack Obama was gay and a radical Muslim, and another saying protesters were being paid thousands of dollars to demonstrate at Donald Trump’s campaign rallies.
#3 Horner took on greater prominence during the presidential election
His false stories were widely shared on social media during the race between Trump and Hillary Clinton.
#4 Paul Horner believed Donald Trump won because of him
In an interview with The Washington Post in 2016, Horner said he thought Trump won the White House because of him. Horner said Trump’s supporters didn’t fact-check his stories before posting them.
#5 Influential members of the Trump team even shared the stories
Former campaign chairman Corey Lewandowski tweeted an article about protesters who were paid $3,500 to oppose Donald Trump. That story was completely fabricated. Donald Trump’s second eldest son Eric Trump also shared Horner’s fake stories.
#6 Paul considered his work as satire
According to his brother J.J. Horner, Paul viewed his work as satire, he said Paul developed a sense of hypocrisy at a young age and later worked as clickbait in the internet world.
#7 Horner wasn’t a Trump supporter
Though many though of Paul as a Trump supporter, he was always very transparent and it was clear that he wasn’t a supporter.
#8 Fake news made him a lot of money
He said that he raked in roughly $10,000 per month from ads during the election season, even as companies like Google were trying to crack down on fake news.
#9 He abused of prescription drugs
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman revealed Horner had a history of prescription drug abuse and that “evidence at the scene suggested this could be an accidental overdose.”
#10 He was arrested in the past
According to USA Today, Horner was arrested after he was found to be in possession of more than $15,000 worth of drugs in 2011 in Chandler, a city in Arizona, including 247 grams of ketamine, heroin, and hundreds of syringes.
Find out more about Paul Horner clicking the link below.
