Hoax website says George H. W. Bush died. He didn't

No, former President George H. W. Bush is not dead.

On July 1, the hoax news site New York Timely Reports posted that he had.

"Former President George H. W. Bush has died at the age of 94, a spokesman said in a statement Sunday afternoon," the article said. "According to Bush’s spokesman McGrath, the former president died ‘peacefully in his afternoon nap.’"

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How do we know this claim is false?

Well, the last time a former president died was Dec. 26, 2006. That was the day Gerald Ford passed to his reward. Within 24 hours, there were 221 news articles.

For George H. W. Bush on July 1, 2018? Zero.

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Social Media

stated on October 26, 2024 in social media posts

An old photo shows Kamala Harris in a McDonald’s uniform.

The president’s spokesman Jim McGrath posted nothing on his Twitter account. If he was releasing a statement to the press as the article said, then for sure he would have done the same on Twitter. His most recent tweet was from June 26 with a letter from Bush supporting Houston’s bid to host the 2020 Democratic convention. The day before, he retweeted a story about Bush getting a new dog named Sully. Former president Bill Clinton was there to welcome the dog, as well.

Bush has his own Twitter account. He congratulated the Republican gubernatorial primary winner in Colorado on June 27.

He also tweeted about the dog.

For the record, the surviving former presidents include Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

The New York Timely Reports has a web address of www.nytives.com, which is one letter off from the New York Times website address, www.nytimes.com. Clearly the site is meant to trick people into clicking.

This claim rates Pants on Fire.