‘Ivermectin Influencer’ Dead at 50

On March 13 2023, popular posts to Imgur and Reddit suggested that an “ivermectin influencer” named Danny Lemoi had died from one of its side effects:

Reddit’s r/LeopardsAteMyFace was a subreddit based on a viral October 2015 tweet about a satirical “Leopards Eating People’s Faces” political party:

Fact Check

Claim: “Ivermectin influencer” Danny Lemoi died in March 2023.

Description: “Ivermectin influencer” Danny Lemoi, who touted ivermectin as an all-purpose treatment, died in March 2023. It’s been suggested that Lemoi’s death may be related to his long-term use of the drug since 2012, but the actual cause of death is not specified.

Rating:

Rating Explanation: Based on the content provided, including the article from Vice.com and an obituary, the claim is confirmed to be true. However, any relation between his death and ivermectin use is not definitively proven.

Text in the sidebar of r/LeopardsAteMyFace added that the subreddit was for instances where a person or people were upset “because they’re suffering consequences from something they voted for or supported or wanted to impose on other people.” On March 13 2023, an account submitted a link to a Vice.com article about Lemoi’s death:

More than one account posted about Lemoi on r/LeopardsAteMyFace. Posts about Lemoi’s passing also appeared on r/Qult_Headquarters (for QAnon-related discussion) and r/HermanCainAwards.

The latter is a subreddit focused on instances where COVID-19 deniers fell seriously ill or died after publicly disavowing evidence-based public health measures. Most submissions linked to the Vice.com article, but the r/HermanCainAwards post featured twelve screenshots illustrating Lemoi’s brief career as an “ivermectin influencer”:

Of the twelve images that came with the post, six were part of a list of 105 conditions for which Lemoi purportedly touted ivermectin as a treatment or cure. Among the 105 items depicted were “Alzheimer’s [Disease],” “Cancer,” “COPD” or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and “AVM” or Arterial Venous Malformation[s].”

On March 13 2023, Vice.com published the article seen in the Imgur post (and linked in several others): “An Ivermectin Influencer Died. Now His Followers Are Worried About Their Own ‘Severe’ Symptoms.” According to the sory, Lemoi began taking ivermectin years before the COVID-19 pandemic began, all the way back in 2012:

In [Lemoi’s] Telegram channel, administrators broke the news of his death to his followers. “Though it was obvious that Danny had the biggest heart, it was unbeknownst to him that his heart was quite literally overworking and overgrowing beyond its capacity, nearly doubled in size from what it should have been,” the admins wrote, adding: “We understand that this is going to raise questions for those who were following him.”

The admins added that Lemoi had undergone testing on his heart last year [2022], but the results had shown no cause for concern.

Lemoi began taking the version of ivermectin designed for animals on a daily basis in 2012, after he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, according to a detailed account of his medical history he gave on a podcast last November [2022]. He said then that five months after first taking the drug, he quit all other treatments and believed ivermectin had “regenerated” his heart muscle … according to the Missouri Poison Center, ingesting large doses of ivermectin formulated for animals has a long list of side effects, including seizures, coma, lung issues, and heart problems. Veterinary ivermectin is not a cure or effective treatment for COVID, the FDA has repeatedly warned, and is highly concentrated because it is designed for large animals like horses and cows. “Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans,” the FDA cautions.

Vice reported that “some members of the group blamed Lemoi’s death on ivermectin,” but did not specify how common that inference was. Information about Lemoi’s death was largely drawn from a public obituary dated March 3 2023.

It did not include a cause of death, and read:

Daniel P. Lemoi, 50, of Foster, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Born in Warwick [Rhode Island], beloved son of Robert J., Captain EGPD (Ret.) and Nancy B. (Byrne) Lemoi of Coventry. He was raised and resided in East Greenwich before moving to Foster eighteen years [prior to his death].

Danny was a heavy equipment operator for many years with the IUOE Local 57 and most recently with General Dynamics Electric Boat Division in Quonset.

He was a 1990 graduate of East Greenwich High School where he played football and wrestled. Dan was sometimes known by his many friends as “big Dan” or “Uncle Buck”, and was also known to sing a little country music at his favorite watering holes. One of Dan’s greatest attributes was that he was always willing to help people.

Besides his parents he leaves a brother, Andrew R. Lemoi; a niece, Madison Lemoi; a nephew, Tegan Lemoi and many aunts, uncles and cousins. He was the brother of the late Samantha Lemoi.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Thursday, March 9, 2023 … Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, 200 Niantic Avenue, Providence, RI 02907 in his memory would be appreciated …

A popular March 13 2023 Vice.com article reported that “ivermectin influencer” Danny Lemoi had died. According to the story, Lemoi had been taking ivermectin since 2012, and often promoted it as an all-purpose treatment after the pandemic renewed interest in the drug.