Fake news about US President Donald Trump’s death has gone viral on social media, sparking a global rumor storm.
The series began when the White House live stream suddenly stopped and a message appeared on the screen: “Stay tuned, we’ll be back live soon.” This short sentence aroused curiosity among users and soon hashtags related to Trump’s death became the top trend on X (formerly Twitter).
The rumors were reinforced when Trump was absent from his usual public activities. At the same time, a fake video emerged that was described as a prediction of The Simpsons cartoon. Although producer Matt Selman explained that the clip was created by artificial intelligence (AI).
An old statement by Vice President J.D. Vance was also taken out of context and went viral, in which he said that if Trump dies, he is ready to take responsibility. Although the statement was actually a general discussion on the presidential succession.