Did actor Matthew Perry vow to expose "child predators" before his death? No, that's not true: The social media post purportedly by Perry that makes the claim is fake -- there is no proof of its existence on his Instagram account and it does not show his verified check mark. The site that made the claim has a history of fabricating claims and social media messages.
The claim appeared in an article published by The People's Voice on October 31, 2023, titled "Matthew Perry Vowed To Expose Hollywood Pedophile Ring Before He Was Found Dead" (archived here). It opened:
News of Matthew Perry's death stunned the world this week. The Hollywood actor who became a household name playing Chandler Bing in the iconic series Friends was found dead in a bathtub at the age of 54.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Matthew Perry Vowed To Expose Hollywood Pedophile Ring Before He Was Found Dead - The People's Voice
News of Matthew Perry's death stunned the world this week. The Hollywood actor who became a household name playing Chandler Bing in the iconic series Friends was found dead in a bathtub at the age of 54.
The People's Voice article also claimed:
But that's not the whole story. Far from it. Like many other celebrities who died before their time in recent years, Matthew Perry had vowed to expose an elite pedophile ring at the heart of the Hollywood entertainment industry.
Within The People's Voice article there is an image of what appears to be an Instagram post by Perry on October 23, 2023, with the message, "The world is run by child predators. The only way to win is to shine a light on their wicked deeds. Who's with me?" Next to the purported message is a picture of the late actor, who died on October 28, 2023, and the word, "MURDERED?"
There is no evidence the Instagram message is a real. A search of his verified account shows no results with the message. Here is a screenshot from the article of the message:
(Source: The People's Voice website screenshot taken on Wed Nov 1 16:23:11 2023 UTC)
Perry's official count has a blue check mark by his name, as other posts on his page show here:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Wed Nov 1 16:32:22 2023 UTC)
A Google search (archived here) of the quote in the message purported to be by Perry yields zero results.
Lead Stories has reached out to Perry's representatives for a comment and will update the story when a response is received.
Pedophilia is one of the recurring themes in many debunked conspiracy theories. Lead Stories debunked such claims here.
The People's Voice
The People's Voice has a lengthy record of publishing false stories in the past. It describes itself as a resource "comprised of various web pages operated by Fact Checked Limited," but it has nothing to do with fact-checking.
As of this writing, its website contained a liability disclaimer, saying:
FACT CHECKED LIMITED AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND.
