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No evidence woman who died in home explosion was to testify against Clintons
A recent blog post baselessly ties a woman’s death in a home opposition to the Clintons.
The article, which appears on the Goldwater, claims that Carole Paladino, a 72-year-old recently deceased New Jersey woman, "had previously been identified by SVR analysts as being a ‘probable witness’ against the Clinton Foundation."
The conspiracy website exploited the real death of Paladino and her husband. She was not set to testify against the Clinton Foundation.
Facebook flagged this story as part of the company’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Multiple news outlets reported on the explosion at the Paladino home on July 7, 2018.
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Authorities did not suspect foul play as the cause, the reports said, but a gas leak instead.
The website didn’t care about that, choosing instead to build a conspiratorial narrative built on Paladino’s contribution to a report that supposedly led to all New Jersey schools being forced to buy EpiPens. She was a retired school nurse.
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The website further embeds itself into false news territory by deeming this the fifth death in its "Clinton body count series."
We’ve debunked similar claims about the Clintons getting involved in shady business and plotting to kill others before. Like those claims, this one provides plenty of speculation, but no evidence to substantiate its headline.
A woman died in a home explosion, but she was not set to testify against the Clintons. We rate this statement Pants on Fire.
Our Sources
Thegoldwater.com, "Clinton Body Count Series #5: Woman Set to Testify Against Clintons Blown Up in Home Explosion," July 11, 2018
Snopes, "Was a New Jersey Couple Killed in an Explosion ‘Set to Testify’ Against Hillary Clinton?," July 10, 2018
Philly.com, "Gloucester County house explosion was caused by natural gas, officials say," July 10, 2018
NJ.com, "Gas caused ferocious explosion that killed couple, destroyed their house," July 10, 2018
Daily Journal, "2 killed in Newfield house explosion identified," July 9, 2018
PolitiFact, "Fake news story says hitman for Bill Clinton confesses," January 23, 2018
PolitiFact, "Clickbait headline wrongly blames Clintons for Anthony Bourdain’s death," June 12, 2018
New Jersey Department of Education, "Training Protocols for the Emergency Administration of Epinephrine," September 2008
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No evidence woman who died in home explosion was to testify against Clintons
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