---
title: "John McAfee’s Instagram Posted Something After He Died"
description: "John McAfee's last Instagram was posted after his suspected suicide. Learn more about conspiracies surrounding McAfee's death here."
date: "2021-06-23"
modified: "2021-06-30"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/john-mcafee-instagram-posted-died"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "john mcafee"
  - "mysteries"
  - "social media"
---

# John McAfee’s Instagram Posted Something After He Died

![After news emerged that John McAfee died of a suspected suicide in his jail cell in Barcelona, Spain, his official Instagram account made a post.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/john-mcafee-instagram-posted-died.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/John_McAfee_Def_Con_%2814902350795%29.jpg" target="\_blank"\>Gage Skidmore/Futurism\</a\>\</em\>*

After news emerged that John McAfee [died of a suspected suicide](<https://futurism.com/john-mcafee-found-dead>) in his jail cell in Barcelona, Spain, his official Instagram account posted a black and white image of the letter "Q."

https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1407806941045399558?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

It's unclear if the post is in reference to the bizarre conspiracy known as "Qanon" — but given McAfee's penchant for baseless conspiracy theories, it's not exactly a stretch.

It's also not the first time McAfee has made references to Q, [making several mentions](<https://twitter.com/travis_view/status/1407812550738251778?s=09>) of the conspiracy on his Twitter account over the last couple of years.

The entrepreneur has a long history of making dubious claims. For instance, McAfee [tweeted](<https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/1137777348919681024?lang=en>) in June 2019 that he had "collected files on corruption in governments. I'll begin with a corrupt CIA agent and two Bahamian officials. Coming today. If I'm arrested or disappear, 31 plus terrabytes \[sic\] of incriminating data will be released to the press."

That apparent threat makes any posthumous post by McAfee intriguing, to say the least.

But unless actual "incriminating data" emerges, the much likelier explanation is that McAfee just wanted to troll the world one more time, by instructing a confidante to post the image to his account after his death.

The software entrepreneur was arrested in October 2020 under charges of tax fraud. He was accused of failing to pay taxes on millions of dollars of income.

In general, he wasn't a big fan of paying his taxes. In 2019, he [tweeted](<https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54431726>) that "taxation is illegal."

McAfee has also held that the Securities and Exchange Commission was threatening is life, [claiming](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/john-mcafee-poison>) back in 2018 that he was poisoned by his "enemies."

Given McAfee's repeated eccentric claims of being the target of an expansive government conspiracy, his posthumous Instagram post shouldn't come as a surprise.

The post, however, may only serve to fan the flames of a discredited conspiracy theory that has pervaded many parts of US society, even making its way [into Congress](<https://www.rollcall.com/2020/11/05/qanon-goes-to-washington-two-supporters-win-seats-in-congress/>).

So checkmate, McAfee — it looks like you found a way to make the world a little worse even after you died.

**More on his death:** *[John McAfee Found Dead in Prison Cell](<https://futurism.com/john-mcafee-found-dead>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)