Imagine finding joy in purveying fake news.

Taking an interest in politics from a young age, Paul Horner would go on to write “false stories and disseminating internet hoaxes” that often went viral on Facebook and hoodwinked thousands of people, explains Business Insider.

On September 18, at the age of 38, he was found dead in his bed outside Phoenix, USA.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mark Casey confirmed authorities discovered his body and that no foul play was involved:

Casey said the Maricopa County medical examiner performed an autopsy which showed there were no signs of foul play. He said Horner had a history of prescription drug abuse and that “evidence at the scene suggested this could be an accidental overdose.”

Horner made his name during the 2016 election when “Fake News” become synonymous with the race between Donnie Trump and Hillary Clinton:

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.

Last year, he also featured in an interview on CNN about why he created fake news:

J.J., Horner’s brother [above right], said Paul “considered his work satire and explained that his brother’s unique eye for hoaxes and hypocrisy at a young age later worked as clickbait in the internet world”:

“So I think that was a lot of the genius behind a lot of his work was pushing ideas that either people wanted to believe or thought was possible,” J.J. said.

Another thing J.J. confirmed was that although his brother was “pigeonholed as a Trump supporter after a member of the Trump family shared one of his stories,” he was always “transparent about his views and it was obvious that he wasn’t”:

“I think he just wanted people to just think for themselves and be credible for their actions,” J.J. Horner said. “Read more; get more involved instead of just blindly sharing things.”

Fair enough. It is a pity he wasn’t able to take fake news to his grave, though.

[source:businessinsider]