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| Paul Horner: how the fake-news kingpin's life and death blurred fact and fiction | Paul Horner: how the fake-news kingpin's life and death blurred fact and fiction |
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| Paul Horner, the high-profile purveyor of fake news, died this month in much the way he lived – surrounded by questions, skepticism, uncertainty. The first words out of Jeffrey Augustine’s mouth, when asked about his friend’s demise, were: “Is he really dead?” | Paul Horner, the high-profile purveyor of fake news, died this month in much the way he lived – surrounded by questions, skepticism, uncertainty. The first words out of Jeffrey Augustine’s mouth, when asked about his friend’s demise, were: “Is he really dead?” |
| Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of the fact-checking website snopes.com, called Horner’s death “alleged”, adding she was only half joking. “I want to write an obituary,” she said, “but what if he’s not dead? Nothing’s true. Everything’s true. It’s amazing.” | Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of the fact-checking website snopes.com, called Horner’s death “alleged”, adding she was only half joking. “I want to write an obituary,” she said, “but what if he’s not dead? Nothing’s true. Everything’s true. It’s amazing.” |
| Even responses to the Facebook tribute posted by Horner’s brother, JJ, were riddled with doubt: “Is this real?” posted one friend. “Under mostly all other circumstances, I would never even utter that question, let alone think it, but this is Paul we are talking about.” | Even responses to the Facebook tribute posted by Horner’s brother, JJ, were riddled with doubt: “Is this real?” posted one friend. “Under mostly all other circumstances, I would never even utter that question, let alone think it, but this is Paul we are talking about.” |
| The uncertainty surrounding Horner’s death is just the latest twist in the story of the shadowy figure who managed to leave his mark on the 2016 US presidential election. While to liberals Horner is a villain who may have helped swing the vote in favor of Trump, members of his family say he was a generous soul who created a charity that donated socks to homeless people. | The uncertainty surrounding Horner’s death is just the latest twist in the story of the shadowy figure who managed to leave his mark on the 2016 US presidential election. While to liberals Horner is a villain who may have helped swing the vote in favor of Trump, members of his family say he was a generous soul who created a charity that donated socks to homeless people. |
| But there are as many questions about Horner’s Arizona-based charity for the homeless as there are about the man and his death. Even in the wake of his death, it is hard to sort fact from fiction. | But there are as many questions about Horner’s Arizona-based charity for the homeless as there are about the man and his death. Even in the wake of his death, it is hard to sort fact from fiction. |
| Horner, 38, died in bed in his mother’s suburban Phoenix home earlier this month, according to the Maricopa County sheriff’s office. In fitting fashion for a man who used the internet to exploit the reading public’s credulity for fun and profit, his death was announced online by his brother. The sheriff’s office said there was no sign of foul play, although the cause of death has not been determined. | |
| “Interviews with Mr Horner’s family indicate the deceased was known to use and abuse prescription drugs,” Lt Adella Laredo said in an emailed statement. “Evidence at the scene suggested this could be an accidental overdose.” | “Interviews with Mr Horner’s family indicate the deceased was known to use and abuse prescription drugs,” Lt Adella Laredo said in an emailed statement. “Evidence at the scene suggested this could be an accidental overdose.” |
| Horner’s best-known internet hoax was a fake Associated Press story with the inflammatory headline: “Donald Trump Protester Speaks Out: ‘I Was Paid $3,500 To Protest Trump’s Rally’”. The piece was realistic enough to fool Trump’s then campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who retweeted it during the 2016 presidential campaign. | Horner’s best-known internet hoax was a fake Associated Press story with the inflammatory headline: “Donald Trump Protester Speaks Out: ‘I Was Paid $3,500 To Protest Trump’s Rally’”. The piece was realistic enough to fool Trump’s then campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who retweeted it during the 2016 presidential campaign. |
| The first quote provided a dead giveaway for anyone familiar with the top names in online hoaxes: “I was given $3,500 to protest Donald Trump’s rally in Fountain Hills,” said 38-year-old Paul Horner. “I answered a Craigslist ad about a group needing actors for a political event. I interviewed with them and got the part.” | The first quote provided a dead giveaway for anyone familiar with the top names in online hoaxes: “I was given $3,500 to protest Donald Trump’s rally in Fountain Hills,” said 38-year-old Paul Horner. “I answered a Craigslist ad about a group needing actors for a political event. I interviewed with them and got the part.” |
| The story went on to say that these faux-testers were paid according to race and sex, with the highest remuneration going to white men. It dinged the Hillary Clinton campaign for its lack of computer savvy and fabricated an interview with the founder of Snopes, which has debunked many of Horner’s postings. | The story went on to say that these faux-testers were paid according to race and sex, with the highest remuneration going to white men. It dinged the Hillary Clinton campaign for its lack of computer savvy and fabricated an interview with the founder of Snopes, which has debunked many of Horner’s postings. |
| Even Horner’s retraction was mean-spirited: “This story is not real. No one needs money to protest Donald Trump … This story I wrote is mocking all of you sheep who think protesters are getting paid. Do your own thinking, retards.” | |
| Horner was profiled in Rolling Stone and Vice. He boasted to the Washington Post: “I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me.” He told friends and interviewers that he made $10,000 or $20,000 a month in ad revenue from his various fake-news sites, which he defended as “satire”. | Horner was profiled in Rolling Stone and Vice. He boasted to the Washington Post: “I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me.” He told friends and interviewers that he made $10,000 or $20,000 a month in ad revenue from his various fake-news sites, which he defended as “satire”. |
| Horner was a complicated man, self-aggrandizing and dangerous to some, gentle and generous to others, a loving caregiver to his disabled brother Brian, a solitary figure who struggled with alcohol and drugs and would sometimes drunk dial late at night. | Horner was a complicated man, self-aggrandizing and dangerous to some, gentle and generous to others, a loving caregiver to his disabled brother Brian, a solitary figure who struggled with alcohol and drugs and would sometimes drunk dial late at night. |
| Augustine, a Los Angeles art dealer, said he had been friends of a sort with Horner since around 2005. The men never met; their relationship was entirely online and on the phone. Augustine described Horner as “a petulant genius” with substance abuse problems. He was a Matt Drudge wannabe, Augustine said, without the energy. | Augustine, a Los Angeles art dealer, said he had been friends of a sort with Horner since around 2005. The men never met; their relationship was entirely online and on the phone. Augustine described Horner as “a petulant genius” with substance abuse problems. He was a Matt Drudge wannabe, Augustine said, without the energy. |
| One particular prank that Augustine questioned Horner about was his fake news story on a company called “Black Friend Connect”, whose “business model revolves around the idea of a white person ‘renting’ a black friend”. | One particular prank that Augustine questioned Horner about was his fake news story on a company called “Black Friend Connect”, whose “business model revolves around the idea of a white person ‘renting’ a black friend”. |
| “I said, ‘Paul, that’s disgraceful’,” Augustine said. “‘What the hell are you doing?’ But people thought it was real. He said, ‘I’m just fucking around with racists because I hate them.’ I said, ‘Paul, can’t you harness your skills in a better way?’” | “I said, ‘Paul, that’s disgraceful’,” Augustine said. “‘What the hell are you doing?’ But people thought it was real. He said, ‘I’m just fucking around with racists because I hate them.’ I said, ‘Paul, can’t you harness your skills in a better way?’” |
| Augustine said Horner would call him late at night from a variety of phone numbers, slurring his words and wanting to talk. The older man said he urged Horner to go to Alcoholics Anonymous and wasn’t surprised to hear that he might have died of an overdose. | Augustine said Horner would call him late at night from a variety of phone numbers, slurring his words and wanting to talk. The older man said he urged Horner to go to Alcoholics Anonymous and wasn’t surprised to hear that he might have died of an overdose. |
| “He reminded me of a lonely boy whose only friend was the internet,” Augustine said. “He never grew up and he never realized what he could have done with his skills. A lot of things were a joke to him. You have to wonder what alcohol and the internet did to him.” | “He reminded me of a lonely boy whose only friend was the internet,” Augustine said. “He never grew up and he never realized what he could have done with his skills. A lot of things were a joke to him. You have to wonder what alcohol and the internet did to him.” |
| But Binkowski, of Snopes, viewed Horner’s work as much more dangerous. While he talked about his websites and fake news stories as comedy and satire, she said, he ended up blurring the lines, causing confusion and teaching others by example how to create fake news and be believed. | But Binkowski, of Snopes, viewed Horner’s work as much more dangerous. While he talked about his websites and fake news stories as comedy and satire, she said, he ended up blurring the lines, causing confusion and teaching others by example how to create fake news and be believed. |
| “For years, all these people have been hiding behind satire, social experimentation,” she said. “He was very good at trolling, getting news organizations to pick up what he was saying as real news. That doesn’t make it satire.” | “For years, all these people have been hiding behind satire, social experimentation,” she said. “He was very good at trolling, getting news organizations to pick up what he was saying as real news. That doesn’t make it satire.” |
| A year or so ago Binkowski questioned Sock It Forward, the charity Horner supposedly set up to give new socks to homeless people. At the time, she said, it was not registered with the Internal Revenue Service as an official 501(c)3 charity. | A year or so ago Binkowski questioned Sock It Forward, the charity Horner supposedly set up to give new socks to homeless people. At the time, she said, it was not registered with the Internal Revenue Service as an official 501(c)3 charity. |
| Today, the site is registered and it accepts money through PayPal. According to the website, it also has sock drives and worked with a man named Michael Reyes and his food truck, called PAZ Cantina, in 2016 handing out burritos and socks outside of a large homeless shelter. | Today, the site is registered and it accepts money through PayPal. According to the website, it also has sock drives and worked with a man named Michael Reyes and his food truck, called PAZ Cantina, in 2016 handing out burritos and socks outside of a large homeless shelter. |
| But the current owner of PAZ Cantina, Alan Robinson, said the food truck was no longer operating, he was reopening the business in another venue and he did not know Horner. David Smith, until recently spokesman for Central Arizona Shelter Services, said he was not aware of his organization receiving donations from Horner. | But the current owner of PAZ Cantina, Alan Robinson, said the food truck was no longer operating, he was reopening the business in another venue and he did not know Horner. David Smith, until recently spokesman for Central Arizona Shelter Services, said he was not aware of his organization receiving donations from Horner. |
| Sock It Forward’s website has links to a KTAR News interview about how the program began. Clicking on the radio station’s links leads to “error loading” or “page not found” messages. | Sock It Forward’s website has links to a KTAR News interview about how the program began. Clicking on the radio station’s links leads to “error loading” or “page not found” messages. |
| “I remain skeptical,” Binkowski said about the charity. “But I remain skeptical of everything about him.” | “I remain skeptical,” Binkowski said about the charity. “But I remain skeptical of everything about him.” |
| One person who is not skeptical is Joseph James Horner, Paul’s 35-year-old brother, who goes by JJ. He told the Guardian his brother showed him photos of his efforts with Sock It Forward. JJ is planning on keeping Sock It Forward going, he said, and hopes to do a donation drive in the near future in his brother’s memory. | One person who is not skeptical is Joseph James Horner, Paul’s 35-year-old brother, who goes by JJ. He told the Guardian his brother showed him photos of his efforts with Sock It Forward. JJ is planning on keeping Sock It Forward going, he said, and hopes to do a donation drive in the near future in his brother’s memory. |
| JJ remembers Horner as a devoted caregiver to their younger brother Brian, who was left brain-damaged by illness and subsequent medical bungling when he was a toddler. Brian, 28, is currently in a rehab center. | JJ remembers Horner as a devoted caregiver to their younger brother Brian, who was left brain-damaged by illness and subsequent medical bungling when he was a toddler. Brian, 28, is currently in a rehab center. |
| “Paul was very active, spending good portions of the day over there,” JJ said. “Paul would spend nights over there.” | “Paul was very active, spending good portions of the day over there,” JJ said. “Paul would spend nights over there.” |
| JJ said his brother was “an artist in this new medium that is the internet and information sharing. He had a knack at figuring out contemporary topics that people wanted to believe or in the back of their mind had already played with. His whole goal was basically to encourage people to do their research and fact-check and just read more.” | |
| Horner’s body had been cremated, his brother said. There will be a private family memorial in the near future and possibly a public event in November. | Horner’s body had been cremated, his brother said. There will be a private family memorial in the near future and possibly a public event in November. |
| Asked about whether his brother did harm with his online efforts, JJ said: “I think he inadvertently did harm” with the fake story about being a paid anti-Trump protester. He added: “It’s hard for me to really judge that.” |