Fact check: Image shows fabricated CNN story about Donald Trump dying

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Image shows CNN story about Trump's death at age 76

Social media users are sharing an image they claim shows a recent CNN story.

One Nov. 2 Instagram post features an image of what appears to be a CNN article with the headline "Donald Trump dead at 76." The supposed article includes the byline of CNN Editor-at-large Chris Cillizza and includes a picture of the former president.

"Former President Donald Trump died of autoerotic asphyxiation in his Florida home on November 1, 2022," reads the text below the image.

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The post garnered more than 100 likes on the first day. Similar iterations have been shared on Instagram and Twitter.

A CNN spokesperson said the image is fabricated. USA TODAY could not find any evidence that the article ever appeared on CNN's site. Trump has not died.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.

Image is digitally manipulated

Emily Kuhn, a spokesperson for CNN, told USA TODAY over email the image is fabricated and not something CNN reported.

The story could not be found on CNN's website or either of its Twitter accounts.

It appears to be an altered screenshot of a Nov. 2 article written by Cillizza. That article includes the same picture of Trump but is titled "Donald Trump joins the Paul Pelosi conspiracy caucus."

And Trump's "death"? There are no reputable news reports saying anything of the sort. CNN reported the former president will be holding four rallies in five days starting Nov. 3.

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The hoax may have originated from a tweet published by comedian Tim Heidecker on Nov. 1.

"Trump, i'm sad to say sounds like he's dying here," Heidecker tweeted in response to a report that Trump was spreading conspiracy theories surrounding Paul Pelosi's recent attack. "I think in fact that maybe he is and could possibly have a very grave disease of which he is dying from. we don't know but it's not good."

Following this tweet, which garnered over 900 likes in two days, other Twitter users began sharing the supposed news that the former president died. The hashtag #Trumpisdead even trended on Twitter.

In response to one of Heidecker's tweets about Trump's possible death, a user with the handle @mylifeisabiglie tweeted the altered picture of the CNN story.

The image was debunked by Reuters and PolitiFact as well.

Our rating: Altered

Based on our research, we rate ALTERED an image claiming to show a CNN story about Trump's death at age 76. A CNN spokesperson said the image is fabricated, and there is no evidence has Trump passed away.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Image altered to show fake CNN story about Trump dying