Fake news pioneer, Paul Horner, died at 38 years of age nine days ago on September 18th of what may have been an overdose of narcotics. He lived here in the valley–in Phoenix–where I live. The Arizona Republic reported today, “For at least six years, Horner sprayed the Internet with intentionally false stories designed to inflame readers. Those stories often went viral on Facebook, allowing him to misinform tens or hundreds of thousands of people–including eventual voters–from his Phoenix apartment.”
Horner got fame for it. In September, 2016, The Arizona Republic interviewed Paul Horner. He said, “All the stuff I write has a moral purpose of targeting things I don’t like in society. Anybody who gets tricked by my stuff is people I’m targeting, trying to make them change the way they think.” Horner also was a stand-up comedian here in Phoenix. He hosted a small downtown gig called “Mystery Show.”
Last year, Horner said his deceptions on the Internet were getting “20 to 50 thousand views.” He used official-looking domain names he bought, such as CNN.co.do and Microsoftsite.com. He sent out false stories with titles such as “Donald Trump Protester Speaks Out: I Was Paid $3,500 To Protest Trump’s Rally.”
Horner explained, “Anybody can write a story. I’ll make sure the first couple paragraphs are always super-ligit…. And then after that, I’ll just gradually have more and more ridiculous bulls–t.”
The Republic reports, “Many of his hoaxes were picked up by news outlets and political players who failed to fact-check the claims.
“President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski tweeted a link to Horner’s story about paid protesters. Fox News once reported that President Barack Obama had personally funded ‘The Museum of Muslim Culture’ during a government shutdown–a story Horner made up. Stories [by Horner] about Obama banning ‘patriotic stuff’ constantly went viral.
“That influence led the Washington Post to credit Horner with an ‘enormous impact’ on the 2016 presidential election.
“‘I think Trump is in the White House because me,’ Horner told the Post in November. ‘Trump supporters–they just keep running with it! They never fact-check anything! Now he’s in the White House. Looking back, instead of hurting the campaign, I think I helped it. And that feels (bad).'”
The Republic reports, “As ‘fake news’ became a household phrase after the election, Horner gained recognition as the Internet’s most prolific hoaxer. He appeared on CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360’ and spoke before the European Parliament.
“In a post on Reddit, he said he made an average of $3,000 to $5,000 per month from his writing, sometimes up to $18,500.”
Paul Horner had a history of illegal drug use. In 2011, he was arrested in Chandler, a suburb city of Phoenix, in possession of over $15,000 worth of drugs and did four months in jail for it.
The Republic continues, “Horner said he never felt guilt for the fake news that bears hs name and may have influenced an election.
“‘I’ve always done the right thing,’ Paul told The Republic in the 2016 interview. ‘I’ve never stolen from anyone. I’ve done a few things in the past that I’m not proud of, but I’ve never been a thief. I’ve never done bad stuff. I’m definitely proud of my life, but more proud of how my writing has become in the last few years.'”
Wow! What a dunce Horner was. His intention was to hurt Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency, and instead he believed he unwittingly got him elected. Crazy! Horner was lying all the time and convincing readers of his lies; yet he said, “I’ve always done the right thing.” What a lack of conscience! This story is now going viral.
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