Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Paul Horner, an individual who creates hoaxes and fake news on Facebook, said he believes he is the reason why Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. “Honestly, people are definitely dumber,” Horner said in an interview with The Washington Post. “They just keep passing stuff around. Nobody fact-checks anything anymore—I mean, that’s how Trump got elected.” He added: “I think Trump is in the White House because of me. His followers don’t fact-check anything—they’ll post everything, believe anything.” When asked why he wouldn’t stop, Horner said he didn’t think Trump could ever actually win the presidency. Recently, Google said it would scrub fake news from its ad platforms, which worries Horner because he makes $10,000 per month from advertisements that run with his work.