US 'Fake News' Kingpin Paul Horner Found Dead

A writer who became notorious for peddling "fake news" during the 2016 US election campaign has died at 38.

Paul Horner was found dead in his bed in Laveen, Arizona, on 18 September, after a suspected drug overdose, officials said.

Horner, who published fraudulent articles on Facebook and websites he set up, claimed he was the reason Donald Trump was elected in November.

Fake news was a major concern during and after the US presidential campaign.


A surge of made-up stories has been accused by some of influencing the outcome of the vote.

Among Horner's creations was a false claim that former President Barack Obama was both gay and a radical Muslim.

Mr Trump's son Eric, and campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, posted one of Horner's fake news items about protesters being paid $3,000 to demonstrate against the Republican candidate.

Many of Horner's sites, such as newsexaminer.net, had names falsely suggesting legitimacy.

However, Horner defended his work as "political satire".