A screenshot of the headline “Donald Trump dead at 76,” from a purported CNN report, has misled some social media users. The information is made up as part of a scam that is being around regarding the previous president.
The image was fake, according to a CNN representative, Emily Kuhn, who told Reuters: “CNN did not cover this.”
Over 1,700 people have retweeted an iteration that was shared by a verified Twitter user (here).
While some admit the report was false, others were perplexed. “This is a joke, I thought. What a strategy. My man, see you in hell,” one Twitter user wrote.
The screenshot is likely an altered version of an analysis by CNN Editor-at-large Chris Cillizza, which includes the same cover photo of Trump (here).
The authentic piece, published on Nov. 1, carries the headline “Donald Trump joins the Paul Pelosi conspiracy caucus” instead and unlike the fabricated screenshot, the cover photo does not include a description.
Reuters found no evidence indicating Trump died and the claim appears to have originated as satire.
Newsweek traced the possible origin of the hoax, which started spreading on Nov. 1, to tweets from comedian Tim Heidecker (here).
“Comedy is back on @Twitter,” Heidecker wrote in a tweet linking to the Newsweek article (here).
The earliest iteration of the image Reuters could identify was posted by Twitter user “@mylifeisabiglie” (here) in response to a tweet by Heidecker.
