On the morning of Tuesday, July 23, a social media post on X announced that former President Jimmy Carter, 99, had died. A Carter Center spokesperson has broken their silence that this report is false.
The announcement was on official “Office of Jimmy Carter” letterhead and looked convincing enough for it to spread. Several news sites ran the story that Carter had passed away and political figures even expressed their condolences on X, while sharing the letter. These posts have since been deleted.
This fake statement announcing President Jimmy Carter’s death made the rounds and even led media organizations to announce that Carter is dead.
ABC and CNN were the first to confirm that the death announcement was a hoax. Once you read the highlighted section of the letter below, it’s clear that this letter is fake.
Just read the highlighted part. pic.twitter.com/RvGpn7a9Vc
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 23, 2024
Fortunately, a Carter Center spokesperson told WSB-TV Atlanta, “This is false. There has been no announcement or change.”
At 99 years old, Carter has been in hospice care for 17 months.
Former President Carter entered hospice care in February 2023.
On February 18, 2023, the Carter Center made the following statement:
“After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.”
Since then, little has been known about his health, but he did attend the funeral of his wife, Rosalynn, in November 2023.
Although he was unable to speak about the love of his life, their daughter Amy read a letter he wrote Rosalynn 75 years prior while he served in the Navy.