Liam Payne died because of drugs

Question

According to ABC News, a partial autopsy revealed that Liam Payne had multiple substances in his body, but also found that the cause of his death was from “multiple trauma” and “internal and external bleeding.” Twenty-five injuries were reported on Payne's body, the report stated that Payne's head injuries were sufficient to cause death and that the cause of death was related to the height of the fall, says Blackwelder. 

Comments

This is an exceptionally well-informed and well-thought out factcheck. I enjoyed that you included the amount of time certain drugs stay in an individual's system, so that readers could form an accurate timeline. This really added perspective to the circumstances of Payne's death and, while drugs played a large role, they were not the ultimate cause of his death

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I think there are a lot of factors that go into Liam Payne's death. From what we know, he was on multiple illegal drugs, acting out in public, and desperate for attention in the moments leading up to his death. Your claim is true that he was on drugs and definitely connected to his death but I don't think anyone, besides him, would know the real reason he is no longer with us today. I would recommend finding more articles that back up this claim.

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Yes there was drugs found in his system but he was also acting out in public, his hotel room was a mess so there was multiple reasons for his death. If an autopsy was added into this data and more information towards his death

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Fantastic work of verifying this claim. i appreciate that you included the various durations that drugs remain in the system to illustrate a timeline of potential events.

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Making a claim so harsh and upfront about a human being that was very well known and loved saying that Liam died over drugs is misleading and can be a touchy subject or even insensitive to some as there have been articles and news reports about his cause of death that wasn't from drugs so saying this straight forwardly can be confusing to some and possibly hurtful if you wanted to continue with this claim a possible better way to maybe restate this could be is it possible Liam pane passed away from over use on drugs? or maybe saying I believe there is more to Liam panes death then what has come from the media and going more in depth with that sentence explaining later what you mean.

Answer 1

Although Liam Payne was found with drugs in his system when he died, that is a misleading claim due to the fact that the reason he died was because he fell off of his hotel balcony. According to NBC News, Liam Payne was extremely intoxicated the night of his death including reports of "pink cocaine" in his system along with other drugs including crack cocaine. "Pink cocaine" is an extremely dangerous drug which is a mix of methamphetamine, MDMA, and ketamine. This drug was found in his system but, his death was not because he overdosed, but instead because he was an unsafe level of intoxication and fell. BBC news reports that the hotel staff working before Liam Paynes death made two separate calls to the authorities to report unsafe behaviors because of drugs and alcohol and also to report that he was destroying his room. Today news states that Liam Payne was found dead on site after falling from his balcony. After his autopsy, it was clear that his reasoning for death was because of bleeding externally and internally, skull trauma, and 25 injuries to his body. So although drugs were in Liam Payne's system, his actual reason for death was due to his fall from the balcony and the injuries that corresponded with that. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/liam-payne-death-one-direction-pink-cocaine-toxicology-report-rcna176532 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9jx89w490o

https://www.today.com/health/news/liam-payne-autopsy-report-cause-of-death-rcna175959
 

Comments

This is a thorough factcheck that provides detailed context for why this claim may be misleading. It expands on the part of the claim that is true by including more details on the drugs that were involved with Payne's death, while also clarifying his actual cause of death. The factcheck includes details of his autopsy that prove that Payne's death was caused by his fall off the balcony and not the drugs in his system. The factcheck also uses multiple accredited and reliable sources that are clearly cited.

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I really like how in depth you went with this fact check. I also like that you clarified that just because there were drugs in his system, doesn't mean that they were the actual cause of death. This original claim is very misleading, but your sources, especially the autopsy reports. If he really did die from drug overdose, the autopsy would have covered that and blatantly stated it. it is important that you made this distinction, because the original claim is extremely surface level and shows that they did not read up on the subject. Your evidence is also concrete and non-partisan, which is important when fact checking.

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This is a very well written fact-check that leaves readers with no doubt you know what you're talking about. You do a good job of clarifying the cause of death being more than just the multiple different drugs in his system, and you support this reasoning with evidence from the autopsy. Additionally, you use credible and reliable sources to back up your reasoning, which plays an important role. With such a recent event, there has been a lot of coverage and people messing with the story a little, so it's nice to finally understand what actually happened, and your fact-check helped to do this.

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"I think you did a good job clarifying the actual cause of death here. It’s a great point that while drugs were in Liam Payne’s system, the real cause of death was the fall and related injuries, not an overdose. The way the article framed it initially made it seem like drugs were the direct cause, which could mislead readers about the circumstances.

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This is an extremely well done fact-check. You very clearly explain how this claim is false while still expressing that it's not an illogical jump. There's a difference between correlation and causation and you exemplify that with the statement, "This drug was found in his system but, his death was not because he overdosed, but instead because he was an unsafe level of intoxication and fell.". Along with the fact you consistently refer to your sources, backing up your claims as you make them. Super well done!

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This fact-check is very well written, and it is very clear you did extensive research across multiple platforms in order to form your conclusion. You brought up a great point at the end when you stated that even though there were drugs present in Liam Payne's system when he died, the actual cause of death was from the fatalities from the fall from his balcony. One thing that made your fact-check strong was that you backed up your claim with not only evidence from NBC News, but also incorporating several reports from BBC News and Today News. You did a good job with using each of your sources to back up the information that was provided in each one. As someone who does not know too much information about this event, your fact-check helped me better understand what actually happened and provided sources with where I can do further research. In my opinion, this fact-check proves the original claim which stated "Liam Payne died because of drugs," to be misleading.

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I think your fact check is very thoughtful and well written. Your sources are very dependable and well as how you went about using them in your answer. You also clarified things that have been said surrounding the news of his death and the drugs that were found in his system.

Answer 2

Liam Payne died after a fall from his three-story hotel room on October 16th, 2024. Autopsies reveal that there was pink cocaine in his system when he died. Pink cocaine is a "mix of ketamine and illegal substances such as methamphetamine, MDMA (also called molly or ecstasy), opioids, or new psychoactive substances," and can be a hallucinogenic with a plethora of symptoms. Hotel staff reported Payne, before he died, as intoxicated and destructive. This is a partially true statement because Payne was under the influence when he died.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/pink-cocaine-liam-payne-death-what-know-rcna176556

Comments

How would you rate the claim? False? True? N/A? Please select a "rating" when submitting a fact-check.

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While you explained that Payne was found with drugs in his system, you never shared whether you believe he died from drugs. You mentioned he died after a fall, but you never expanded on the original fact you answered. Your source of NBC news is a credible source that explained the drugs found in Liam Payne's body.

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The claim that Liam Payne's death was solely due to drugs is indeed misleading. While the presence of drugs in his system is noted, the preliminary autopsy report clearly attributes his death to the trauma from falling from the third floor. This distinction is crucial because it highlights that the fall itself, rather than the drugs, was the direct cause of death. It's essential for media outlets to report these findings accurately to avoid perpetuating misconceptions about the circumstances surrounding his tragic death. Understanding the full context can prevent the oversimplification of complex issues like substance use and its potential effects. What are your thoughts on how media coverage can impact public perception of such cases?

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I like your use of the source to explain what the drug was that Liam Payne was under the influence of as well as stating what the autopsy reported. However the statement grade of the claim being true is not correct. The claim states that cause of his death was due to drugs, when it was in fact from the impact of the fall and the injuries. The drugs had an influence on Paynes actions which lead to his fall but they were not the recorded cause of death.  The original claim is misleading and spreading incorrect information.

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I agree with you completely, the media fixating on the use of drugs has outshined the fact that what most likely killed him was the fall from his balcony. The sensationalism and snap judgments that are being made about his death detract from what the facts are. It's horrible to think that some claims by news outlets are misleading the public about his death.

Answer 3

The claim that Liam Payne died because of a drug appears to be misleading. While it is true that the toxicology report shows that there are drugs in his system, the preliminary autopsy report states that his cause of death was because of his fall from the third floor. Although the hotel had asked for reinforcement from law enforcement to help with a guest who was “drunk with drugs and alcohol” (Blackwelder), and this state of mind could be speculated to be the cause of the fall, his death was overall a result of trauma induced by the fall itself, not the drugs. Many other news sites, NBC News, The Guardian, People,  have reported on similar headlines involving the fact Payne had drugs in his system but none of these articles indicate that drugs were the cause of his death.

 

Blackwelder, Carson. ABC News, ABC News Network, 21 Oct. 2024, abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/liam-payne-partial-autopsy-report-multiple-substances/story?id=114985701.

Comments

This is a very good fact check. You summarized the main claim, and the details of Liam Payne's autopsy report, and clearly stated why you think this claim is exaggerated/misleading. You also clearly stated that none of the articles indicated that drugs were the cause of his death, providing a credible source.

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I think you did a very good job fact checking this claim. You allowed us readers to see the main claim of the article, and gave us many details on Liam Paynes autopsy report. I also liked how you clearly stated your opinion on this topic saying that the claim is inaccurate, and misleading. I thought it was also very insightful when you stated that all of the articles you researched never mentioned that drugs were the cause of his death, and that only the non credible sources said this statement.

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I think this fact check is great. I like how you summarized the main point of the idea that he didn't die because of drugs but the fact that he was intoxicated with it. I also liked how you pointed out that no other sources indicated or stated that drugs were the reason of his death, clearly pointing out that anything stating that his death was because of drugs is false.

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This fact check was overall super well done. You summarized both the main claim and separate subclaims, along with details of Liam Payne's autopsy report. You stated your own thoughts on the matter but had sources to back it up instead of leaving it up to the readers (which can be misleading).

Answer 4

This claim is very misleading. The toxicology reports showed that Liam Payne had multiple different types of drugs in his system when he died, including pink cocaine which is a mix of ketamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, opioids, and possibly new psychoactive substances or caffeine. Although he had all of these in his system when he died, he ultimately died from falling off his balcony where he suffered multiple traumas and hemorrhages. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/pink-cocaine-liam-payne-death-what-know-rcna176556 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/10/21/what-to-know-about-liam-paynes-death-payne-had-multiple-drugs-in-system-report-says/

Comments

I believe you are correct in stating that this claim is misleading and nullifies the other factors of his death. "Died because of drugs" insinuates that he overdosed or that his fall was a result of him being under the influence, which are both claims that are not backed up with facts and evidence. Ultimately, as you pointed out, the claim is misleading, though I would select that as your tag for this fact check.

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You did a good job of utilizing various sources to prove that the claim was misleading and not completely accurate. The claim that “Payne died of drugs” is incredibly deceptive and the evidence you utilized did an excellent job of proving the claim to be inaccurate.

Answer 5

The claim that Liam died because of the recent drugs found in his toxicology report is somewhat misleading. This allows the reader to assume that his cause of death was solely because of the drugs that were found in his system after his death. However according to NBC news:

"An autopsy found that Payne had 25 injuries “compatible with those produced by a fall from height” and that his cause of death was “polytraumatism, internal and external hemorrhage,” the Argentina National Prosecutor’s Office said."

So while the drugs may have played a part in his fall, it is ultimately the height at which he fell and the internal bleeding that endured following the 3 story height fall. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/liam-payne-death-one-direction-pink-cocaine-toxicology-report-rcna176532

Answer 6

Even though ABC news did find out that Liam Payne did have multiple substances in his body, it is important to also note that that was not his only cause of death. According to the ABC News report, Liam Payne also died from "multiple trauma" and "internal and external bleeding." The wording of this claim is extremely misleading and could convince audiences that a drug overdose was his only cause of death, when in reality, there were multiple causes for his death. While the claim is not technically not a "wrong" response, given there were substances in his body, it is simply not complete and does not have enough to back up that vague of a response.

Answer 7

The title claims that celebrity Liam Payne died from drugs, which insinuates that he had overdosed, but that is not the case. 

In the article, Carson Blackwelder explains, "Payne's body was found in the inner courtyard of the hotel, where he was pronounced dead at the scene." Given this, the original claim is extremely misleading and deceiving. Blackwelder also shares "multiple substances in his system when he fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room," which may have been where the confusion stemmed from, but there was nothing in the autopsy report that stated he had overdosed on drugs. What had been found in the report was that “Payne's head injuries were sufficient to cause death and the cause of death was related to the height of his fall.” This clearly resolves all other conspiracies regarding the stars passing and whether or not it was the drugs ingested. In a separate article, Chrissy Callahan reiterates, “Payne died as a result of “multiple traumatic injuries” and “internal and external bleeding” he sustained after falling from the balcony.”

The fall was what tragically killed him, not the substances taken prior. Although drugs may be factored into how he fell, it is still incorrect to claim his cause of death was because of them. 

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/liam-payne-partial-autopsy-report-multiple-substances/story?id=114985701

https://www.today.com/health/news/liam-payne-autopsy-report-cause-of-death-rcna175959

Answer 8

This is a false claim because this article was posted prior to his autopsy report being released to the public. In a more recent article by Today News ( https://www.today.com/health/news/liam-payne-autopsy-report-cause-of-death-rcna175959 ) the results of his autopsy are stated and it claims that it was "polytrauma internal and external injuries" which would occur from a fall to concrete rather that saying that it was a drug overdose.

Answer 9

While Liam Payne did have multiple drugs in his body at time of death, that was not the ultimate reason for his passing, as he died after falling from the third-floor balcony of his hotel room. The ingested substances included "pink cocaine" – a recreational drug that typically is a mix of several drugs including methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA and others. The autopsy, however, revealed that Payne sustained twenty-five injuries from his fall. The report concluded that the head injuries alone were fatal, with the height of the fall being the contributing factor to his death.

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/liam-payne-preliminary-autopsy-report-114900131

Comments

Hello, overall your claim to the article has strength but is missing some components. To start with next time state whether the article is misleading, true, or just false. In addition, go beyond just finding evidence in just one article. Since the death of Liam Payne was in Argentina, you could find an article from Argentina reporting because that would be a first-hand account of the autopsy taking place. Overall though your claim is well supported from the evidence you found from the good morning America. It should be noted though that your source from Good Morning America is with the same company as ABC the claim you are fact-checking.

Answer 10

Stating that Liam payne died of drugs makes it appear as though his cause of death was on overdose. The ABC News article used in your claim states that his cause of death were the injuries he faced after falling. So the claim is very misleading. Forbes reported that there were multiple hard drugs that were found in his system. However, it is unknown if he would have died from an overdose that day if he had not fallen from the balcony, so we cannot particularly say drugs were the exact cause of death. It is probable he could have made a recovery after all of the drugs were out of his system. The article linked below by the credible NBC News does a good job at explaining the events that led up to his death. Most, if not all articles circulating Liam Payne's death will mention the fact he was on multiple drugs at the time of death but state his injuries as the cause of his death. His official cause of death per the Argentina National Prosecutors Office is polytraumatism, external and internal hemorrhage. 

https://www.today.com/video/autopsy-report-reveals-liam-payne-s-cause-of-death-222178373892

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/10/21/what-to-know-about-liam-paynes-death-payne-had-multiple-drugs-in-system-report-says/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/liam-payne-death-one-direction-pink-cocaine-toxicology-report-rcna176532#

https://www.fiscales.gob.ar/fiscalias/el-fiscal-andres-madrea-recibio-al-padre-del-fallecido-musico-liam-james-payne/

Comments

This is a sound fact check and delves into how ABC News' article is misleading regarding the nature of Liam Payne's death. The reports provided by Today News, Forbes, and NBC News are reliable as they all mention the press release given by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Argentina regarding Liam Payne's cause of death, which wasn't entirely by his drug consumption but by the trauma caused from his fall. By also providing a direct link to the press release is credible, especially concerning how the given article by ABC News can be misleading.

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This is a really credible factcheck. I liked your use of multiple sources to show the credibility of saying his death was from his injuries.  You did a good job at explaining the influence the drugs had on him while also debunking the claim of them being the cause of his death.

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This whole thing proves a really good point that drugs really can do anything to without you knowing all the consequences that can come with doing drugs.

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You did an excellent job fact-checking this claim. Utilizing various articles to prove the claim to be inaccurate and misleading increased the credibility and demonstrated that your sources were reliable. You did a good job of showing that although the drugs had an impact, that was not the overall cause of death.