Cultists Claim Shinzo Abe Was About To Expose Hillary

The Associated Press has been forced to a fact-check:

CLAIM: A screenshot shows that Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan who was assassinated on Friday, tweeted: “I have information that will lead to the arrest of Hillary Clinton.”

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Abe did not tweet this statement, which is a reference to a long-running internet meme. A screenshot purporting to show the tweet has been fabricated. Abe’s verified Twitter account uses a different username and profile picture than the ones shown in the altered image. The Japanese text in the altered image does not mention Clinton, either.

THE FACTS: Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving leader when he resigned in 2020, was assassinated Friday on a street in western Japan by a gunman who opened fire as Abe delivered a campaign speech. Shortly after, a fabricated screenshot appeared online purporting to show a message about Clinton with a timestamp indicating that Abe had tweeted it hours prior.

Read the full article. Reuters has also done a fact-check. The claim has reportedly gone viral on Gab and Truth Social. Of course.

Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan who was assassinated on Friday, did not tweet about Hillary Clinton the day before he died. A screenshot purporting to show such a tweet was fabricated. https://t.co/eNObjpxxdT

— AP Fact Check (@APFactCheck) July 8, 2022

Fact-Check on Viral Fake Screenshot of Shinzo Abe Tweeting About Hillary Clinton Also Goes Viral https://t.co/Z5t5NHC2Zr

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) July 9, 2022