Fake letter sparks Jimmy Carter death hoax

"BREAKING NEWS: President Jimmy Carter just passed away this morning. His office and family released this statement," said far-right activist Laura Loomer, whom AFP has previously fact-checked for spreading disinformation, in a now-deleted post on X.

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Screenshot from X taken July 23, 2024

Similar posts snowballed across X, so much so that "Jimmy Carter" trended on the website. The claim also circulated on other platforms, such as Threads.

Republican US Senator Mike Lee briefly shared it, offering "thoughts and prayers" for the Georgia Democrat before removing his post, US media outlets confirmed.

The New York Post temporarily ran the headline: "Former President Jimmy Carter dead at 99."

Carter has been in hospice care for more than a year. At 99 years old, he is the longest-living president in US history, having led the nation from 1977 to 1981.

But posts claiming he died July 23, 2024 are false.

"There is no change in his health status," said Matthew De Galan, press liaison for the Carter family and vice president of communications for the nonprofit Carter Center.

De Galan added in a July 23 email that the letter spreading online is "a fake."

The statement contains several clues it is fallacious, including typos and two made-up quotes.

The second paragraph lists "selling the United States out to Panama," "getting soft on the Soviet Union" and "failing to rescue several hostages from Iran" among Carter's "significant foreign policy accomplishments." The fourth paragraph makes crude sexual comments about former first ladies Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan.

The fabricated letter appears to come from an X user named "Boccaccio." When clicked, the image's description says: "President Carter is still alive and in hospice care. This was an experiment to see how gullible people are to sensationalist headlines."

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Screenshot from X taken July 23, 2024

In follow-up posts and replies to other users, Boccaccio pointed to the post's description and said he was "the one who made the graphic."

"Big thank you yo (sic) everyone who fell for this. Particularly for proving me right: people only read headlines," he said.

Loomer and others who deleted their posts have since issued corrections.

"It appears that the letter saying Jimmy Carter has passed away is fabricated," she wrote July 23. "Gross. Why would someone fabricate a letter saying a President died?"

AFP has debunked other misinformation about US politics here.