Get PolitiFact in your inbox.

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke March 15, 2023

No mystery: Former Clinton White House official died after jet turbulence

If Your Time is short

  • Former Clinton White House official Dana Hyde died from injuries sustained from severe jet turbulence. 
 

There’s a new victim of longtime misinformation that former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are responsible for the deaths of scores of political enemies.

"BREAKING," a March 9 Facebook post says. "Yet another Epstein and Clinton ally MYSTERIOUSLY dies."

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The video makes clear that the post’s caption refers to the March 3 death of Dana Hyde, a 55-year-old who worked as a special assistant during the Clinton administration and also as a senior adviser at the State Department under then-President Barack Obama. 

Featured Fact-check

The video mentions the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but not in connection to Hyde, and speculates about the deaths of other people in the Clintons’ orbit who have died over the years.

However, Hyde’s death isn’t a mystery. It’s been widely reported that she died after the business jet she was flying in hit severe turbulence. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident and said a preliminary report will be released later this month. 

The chief medical examiner’s office in Hartford, Connecticut, where Hyde was brought after the turbulence and later pronounced dead, found that she died from blunt-force injuries.

We rate claims that she died mysteriously, much less that she was murdered by the Clintons, False.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

No mystery: Former Clinton White House official died after jet turbulence

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up