Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, a long-serving Republican who was once floated as a potential Supreme Court justice by former President Donald Trump, fell for an obvious online hoax on Tuesday.

On X, Lee posted an image of a fake letter purporting to be from the Office of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, announcing the ex-president's death.

One look at the letter's contents, however, would have immediately indicated that it was fake.

A letter posted on X claiming former President Jimmy Carter died is fake.

Far-right personality Laura Loomer posted an image of a letter announcing the 99-year-old died on Tuesday and it quickly spread like wildfire on social media.

Even Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) fell for the ruse – along with several media outlets.

But the Carter Center and the former president's doctor confirmed that reports of Carter's death are not true and his status, though poor, remains unchanged.

The claim: Video shows Secret Service failing to protect Kamala Harris in 2023

A July 16 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a video of Vice President Kamala Harris sitting on a stage when a man approaches her and grabs the microphone from her hands.

A shooter attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in the western Pennsylvania town of Butler on July 13.

A bullet grazed Trump’s ear, and three rally attendees were shot — Corey Comperatore, 50, died, and David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were injured.

Secret Service agents killed the suspect at the scene, and the FBI later identified him as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

Investigators said that it appears Crooks acted alone.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The online advertisement to Donald Trump supporters was clear enough: Click here, and receive a free Trump 2024 flag and a commemorative coin. All in exchange for taking a quick survey and providing a credit card number for the $5 shipping and handling.

“You’ll get two free gifts just by taking this quick poll in support of Trump,” says the ad’s narrator.

The ad — which has appeared on Facebook, YouTube and other platforms — didn’t mention the $80 charge that would later appear on credit card statements. Those that clicked were scammed.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it disrupted a Russian propaganda campaign using fake social media accounts, powered by artificial intelligence, to spread disinformation in the U.S. and other countries.

The bot farm used AI to create profiles impersonating Americans on X, formerly known as Twitter, and to post support for Russia's war in Ukraine and other pro-Kremlin narratives.

US officials say they have taken action against an AI-powered information operation run from Russia, including nearly 1,000 accounts pretending to be Americans.

The accounts on X were designed to spread pro-Russia stories but were automated “bots” - not real people.

In court documents made public Tuesday the US justice department said the operation was devised by a deputy editor at Kremlin-owned RT, formerly Russia Today.

RT runs TV channels in English and several other languages, but appears much more popular on social media than on conventional airwaves.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently seized control of two internet domains and searched 968 accounts on the X social media platform, which it accused of helping spread disinformation for the Russian government.

The seizures were part of an FBI investigation into an alleged artificial intelligence-enhanced social media bot farm that has created hundreds of fake social media profiles purportedly of U.S. residents, according to a June 27 search warrant affidavit. The affidavit says the accounts promoted messages that support Russian government objectives.

A Democratic politician said the investigation into the State Department’s funding of censorship projects was an election season distraction aimed at benefiting Republicans.

The House Committee on Small Business held a hearing Wednesday on the “Censorship Industrial Complex”, a reference to the US government’s funding of organisations which purport to fight disinformation, but which Republicans accuse of stifling conservative speech, including that of American journalists.