Jack White blasts “clickbait” sites after reports of heroin use

ABC/Nicole WilderJack White is taking aim at what he calls “clickbait” articles, after some sites reported that the musician had been using heroin.

It all started with an interview White gave to the Irish Times, in which he addressed the 10-year gap between The Raconteurs’ new album Help Us Stranger and the group’s last effort, 2008’s Consolors of the Lonely

“Well, when [co-vocalist/guitarist] Brendan [Benson] gave up alcohol, I started doing heroin, so that delayed things,” White said. While it seemed like he might’ve been joking, some outlets ran stories stating White’s heroin use as fact.

In an Instagram post, White clarifies, “I’ve never done heroin or any other illegal drug in my life and anyone close to me could confirm this.”

“If you’d actually read the article in full, you could see that I was joking,” he added.

White then went on to criticize publications he feels are “trash ‘music’ cough ‘journalism’ sites,” and referenced a recent viral story about him that claimed he’d never owned a cellphone.

“Though I realize that you work in the business of soundbites and clickbait, and that you’re p***ed Third Man Records didn’t send you a free copy of the new Raconteurs album because of how nasty you regularly are, here’s a couple of other notes,” he wrote.

“I don’t hate people who own cell phones, or never allow one near me, or hate ALL technology etc. Stop painting with such a wide brush.”

Meanwhile, Help Us Stranger has debuted atop the Billboard 200, giving The Raconteurs their first number-one record.

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