Fact Check Fact Check: The ‘Office of Jimmy Carter’ letter saying Jimmy Carter died on the 23rd of July was false
By Reuters Fact Check
A faked image of a document purportedly written by Carter’s office. U.S. President Jimmy Carter appeared online claiming Carter was “passed away” on July 23rd 2024. This letter that led to widespread speculation about the death of Carter was fabricated the person who wrote the post has told Reuters.
A spokesperson from Carter Center said Carter Center also said about the letter that was posted on the internet Tuesday, “This is false. There is no announcement or any change.”
The screen shot, which opens in a in a new tab is accompanied by a letterhead on the top which reads “The Office of Jimmy Carter” and is dated 23rd 2024. The first sentence states that the 99-year old “passed away Tuesday, July 23 at 01:34 a.m. at his home” in Plains, Georgia.
Reuters Image
The letter, however, is not available on the site that is owned by the Carter Center, opens new tab the non-governmental group established by former president and his wife Rosalynn Carter or its social media pages, which open in a the new tab.
He has been afflicted with numerous medical problems which included cancer, and was admitted to hospice care within the Georgia residence in the month of February. The former president made his rare appearance in public in November, at the funeral service of his wife who passed away on the 19th of November. 19.
The first version of the fake letters image is in a blog post on X and opens a in a new tab and contains text that can be read when you click “ALT” on the screen in which”the former president “is still alive” and that the letter “was an experiment to see how gullible people are to sensationalist headlines.”
When asked for comments the account’s owner account claimed to be the author of the letter and told Reuters in a message direct to Reuters, “I created it last night. The amount of false information circulated throughout the weekend regarding the condition of President Biden’s health was alarming. …. It was my intention to show that a lot of users are on X often share sensationalist stories and headlines without fact verifying or double-checking the content source.”
The author also said “I have no ill will towards President Carter and his family, and I admire him greatly for his service to our nation and efforts to promote democracy around the world.”
The text of the letter included evidence that the letter was a hoax, with an error at the end of paragraph 6 (bweing) and a fabricated quote that called Carter’s husband “the original Brat” – in reference to the viral meme that began to spread following the announcement of Vice-President Kamala Harris announced her 2024 presidential run, where people on the internet paired videos of Harris with songs from the British artist Charli XCX.
(Updated on the 23rd of July to include a response from the creator of the fake email)
VERDICT
False. This letter has not been released, a spokesperson for the Carter Center said to Reuters in an email.
This piece was created in collaboration with The Reuters Fact Check team. Find out further about our fact-checking efforts.