Fact Check

Was Julian Assange Found Dead in a London Alley?

A fake news item appeared to report that Wikileaks' founder was kidnapped from the Ecuadorean embassy in London and his body was dumped in an alley.

Published April 20, 2017

Claim:
Julian Assange was kidnapped from the Ecuadorean embassy in London and murdered in April 2017.

On 13 April 2017, the web site Daily Info Box reported that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had been found dead in a London alley, his body showing signs of torture:

After being kidnapped from the Ecuadorian embassy in the early morning hours, Julian Assange’s body was found tossed away like garbage in a London alley. Investigators from Scotland Yard are currently working with MI5 and the United States FBI to figure out exactly what transpired here today.

Obviously, Assange has many enemies, none who would want to see him dead than Hillary Clinton. According to Chief Investigator Nigel Hollister, Assange wasn’t simply kidnapped and killed; he endured what looks like hours of advanced interrogation techniques. His finger and toenails had been removed and his testicles were crushed with what may have been a small sledgehammer.

Daily Info Box is a known purveyor of fake news, and the unrelated photograph was lifted from a February 2014 article about the death of a teenager in London. Wikileaks' Twitter account continued to reference Assange as alive despite the claim, and no credible outlet reported what would have been major international news of its founder's death.

The article was published on 13 April 2017. Between its publication and 21 April 2017, Julian Assange was in the news after reports that the United States sought to arrest him:

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.

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