After the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a screenshot purporting to show a tweet from Abe before his death began circulating online.
According to the Associated Press, the tweet showed Japanese characters with a supposed translation in English underneath.
“I have information that will lead to the arrest of Hillary Clinton,” the translation read.
However, the AP determined claims that Abe tweeted this were false.
“Abe’s verified Twitter account uses a different username and profile picture than the ones shown in the altered image,” the outlet reported.
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“The Japanese text in the altered image does not mention Clinton, either.”
Instead, the AP found the Japanese characters loosely translated to, “to repeat, I.”
Abe was shot Friday while giving a speech endorsing a candidate in Nara, Japan, NPR reported. He died of his injuries shortly after.
This is not the first time a hoax regarding Hillary Clinton circulated following the death of a high-profile figure. In an article from 2020, the Associated Press reported a similar incident after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died.
Do you trust Hillary Clinton?
Yes: 1% (15 Votes)
No: 99% (1607 Votes)
Just like the fabricated tweet from Abe, a fake tweet from Ginsberg promised incriminating information about Clinton.
The AP reported Ginsberg did not use a personal Twitter account, and the account from which the tweet was allegedly sent had no connection to her.
While neither of these tweets turned out to be real, the virality of this trend gives an insight into Americans’ feelings about Clinton.
Clinton has not been politically relevant since she lost to former President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Nonetheless, many people are still discussing her shady behavior.
If social media users wanted to create a hoax that would sully the name of a political figure, one would think they would choose a politician with potential power, such as Trump or President Joe Biden.
Instead, these hoaxes have revolved around Clinton, who has been out of the political spotlight for six years now.
False as these tweets are, they are based on a kernel of truth: Clinton has lived her life in a shady manner. From her infamous emails to her alleged spying on Trump and his campaign, she has been riddled with scandals throughout her career.
Americans do not trust Clinton, and they have made this fact clear by bringing up doubts about her following high-profile deaths.
