Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (2024)

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Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (1)

Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (2)

Bloggers

stated on March 24, 2017 in a headline:

"Autopsy results from Vince Foster’s exhumed body — Cause of death to be changed!"

Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (3)

Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (4)
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By Joshua Gillin April 3, 2017

A fake news story saying former White House counsel Vince Foster’s body shows evidence that he didn’t die of a suicide is only part of a wide range of false Internet posts that won’t let rest the idea he was killed by Bill and Hillary Clinton.

A March 24, 2017, story posted on Liberty-Courier.com carried the headline, "Breaking: Autopsy results from Vince Foster’s exhumed body — Cause of death to be changed!" The site, which is registered to an address in Utah, uses a name that evokes a newspaper, but is filled with fake news stories and has no immediately apparent contact information.

The Foster story was flagged by Facebook users, who reported it as potentially being fake as part of the website’s efforts to push fabricated stories out of its news feeds.

Foster, who was deputy counsel to President Bill Clinton and a former Arkansas law colleague of Hillary Clinton, committed suicide in 1993 at age 48, after suffering from depression. He was buried in his hometown of Hope, Ark.

Conspiracy theories have raged for years that the Clintons actually had Foster killed for his knowledge of the Whitewater real estate deal or some other insight. President Donald Trump is among those who have questioned whether Foster actually committed suicide, despite five different investigations concluding he suffered a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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The post, meanwhile, is fake, and has ended up on other fake news websites.

It says that U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., had ordered Foster’s body exhumed. It cited a U.S. Navy officer as saying the forensics lab at the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Va., determined Foster suffered two gunshot wounds, and his death should be reclassified as a homicide.

Foster’s body has not been exhumed, and there is no Naval Hospital in Norfolk — although there is a Naval Medical Center across the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, which used to be known as Naval Hospital Portsmouth.

The post is accompanied by a photo that purports to be of naval forensics specialists, but actually is a handout photo from the Sacramento County (Calif.) Coroner’s Office.

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Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (6)

Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (7)

Instagram posts

stated on October 14, 2024 in an Instagram post

Fox News reported Donald Trump donated $1,300 for hurricane relief.

Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (8)

Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (9)

The story first appeared on March 22 on TheLastLineOfDefense.org, a site that has been the source of several fake news stories that we’ve previously checked. Their posts often end up being repurposed by many other websites that don’t credit its origin, as is the case here.

TheLastLineOfDefense.org doesn’t indicate this story or any other post is fake, but its About Us link notes that "all articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney."

TheLastLineOfDefense.org has developed a regular cottage industry of writing about Foster’s death. The site has previously written posts that said Gowdy had Foster’s body exhumed, then that it went missing from the morgue in Norfolk, or that WikiLeaks has proof of a conspiracy surrounding Foster’s death.

The assertion that Foster’s body has been dug up, autopsied again and his death ruled a homicide is completely made up.

We rate this statement Pants On Fire!

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stated on November 6, 2017 in a headline:

"Supreme Court issues its first bench warrant ever."

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stated on November 7, 2017 in an Internet post:

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stated on November 1, 2017 in an appearance on 'Hannity':

Says Jake Tapper said Allahu Akbar was a "beautiful phrase" after a terrorist attack in New York.

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stated on October 6, 2017 in Internet posts:

"California Democrat Maxine Waters charged on 3 counts."

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stated on October 29, 2017 in Internet posts:

Says actor Morgan Freeman said, "Jailing Hillary" is the best way to "restore public faith in government."

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stated on October 28, 2017 in a headline:

"Hillary Clinton leaves the country as Mueller indictment is announced."

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stated on October 27, 2017 in a headline:

"Breitbart leaks names of four Dems being charged in Mueller’s Russia probe."

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Michael Moore

stated on October 4, 2017 in a Facebook post:

"People who die from a home invasion make up a sad but minuscule .04% of all gun murders in the U.S. And over a third of them are killed by their own gun that the criminal has either stolen or wrestled from them."

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Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (47)

React365.com

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"Tulsa school closes after brutal fire."

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AsAmericanAsApplePie.org

stated on October 15, 2017 in a headline:

"San Juan city council votes unanimously to impeach Trump-hating mayor."

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Viral image

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A viral image shows LeBron James wearing a T-shirt that reads, "We march, y’all mad. We sit down, y’all mad. We speak up, y’all mad. We die, y’all silent."

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Bloggers

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AsAmericanAsApplePie.org

stated on October 8, 2017 in a headline:

"Jason Aldean gig canceled after he sells out to liberals on ‘SNL’."

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Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (69)

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    Social Media

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    Kamala Harris

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    Viral image

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    Kari Lake

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Fake news: Vince Foster’s death hasn't been ruled a homicide (2024)
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