He said Trump won because of him. Then this fake news writer was found dead in bed

Paul Horner, a fake news writer responsible for stories like those alleging Donald Trump protesters were being paid, was found dead in his bed in Phoenix, police said. He was 38.

Horner created fake news websites designed to look like legitimate news organizations and used the network to spread false stories. His work was particularly successful during the 2016 presidential election, during which he spread negative news about Democrats.

“I think Trump is in the White House because of me,” Horner told the Washington Post after the election in November. “His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything.”

Horner said his posts reached hundreds of thousands of people during the election — including then-Trump campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski, who shared on Twitter one of the articles alleging protesters at Trump rallies were being paid $3,500.

“Like, I made that up. I posted a fake ad on Craigslist,” Horner told the post. “Looking back, instead of hurting the campaign, I think I helped it.”

He said in a post on Reddit he made an average of $3,000 to $5,000 a month writing fake news, sometimes much more.

Even before the 2016 election, Horner was actively using fake information on the internet to make his living. He convinced millions of people in 2014 he was graffiti artist Banksy and was what the Washington Post called a “serial hoaxer.” Horner also invented a story that former President Barack Obama was paying to keep a Muslim culture museum in Mississippi open during the government shutdown. No such museum exists.

The police do not suspect foul play in Horner’s death.

"Interviews with Mr. Horner’s family indicate the deceased was known to use and abuse prescription drugs. Evidence at the scene suggested this could be an accidental overdose," Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Casey said in a statement, according to the Arizona Republic.

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 8:33 PM with the headline "He said Trump won because of him. Then this fake news writer was found dead in bed."