| | Following the 2016 election in which Trump won, [[liberals]], the [[mainstream media]], and [[social media]] had misapplied the term "fake news" to make the false accusation that [[Alternative Media|alternative news]] and Russian sources are "deliberately lying" to their readers, listeners, and viewers, and that these "lies" helped elect [[Donald Trump]] [[President of the United States]]. The liberal-pushed "fake news" accusations are a form of [[conspiracy theory]]. However, the [[mainstream media]] itself publishes and promotes fake news stories,<ref>Heinlein, Peter (May 30, 2017). [https://www.voanews.com/a/donald-trump-frustrated-fake-news-overlooks-accomplishments/3878266.html Trump Frustrated by 'Fake News' That Overlooks His Accomplishments]. ''Voice of America''. Retrieved June 26, 2017.</ref> from appearing in its nightly network newscasts, on its cable news channels, in its newspapers and on its websites (including Facebook). The MSM has allegedly been adopting safeguards to prevent itself from reporting fake news stories,<ref name="Tech Crunch"/><ref name="Barron"/> but it has been unsuccessful based on more recent examples. | | Following the 2016 election in which Trump won, [[liberals]], the [[mainstream media]], and [[social media]] had misapplied the term "fake news" to make the false accusation that [[Alternative Media|alternative news]] and Russian sources are "deliberately lying" to their readers, listeners, and viewers, and that these "lies" helped elect [[Donald Trump]] [[President of the United States]]. The liberal-pushed "fake news" accusations are a form of [[conspiracy theory]]. However, the [[mainstream media]] itself publishes and promotes fake news stories,<ref>Heinlein, Peter (May 30, 2017). [https://www.voanews.com/a/donald-trump-frustrated-fake-news-overlooks-accomplishments/3878266.html Trump Frustrated by 'Fake News' That Overlooks His Accomplishments]. ''Voice of America''. Retrieved June 26, 2017.</ref> from appearing in its nightly network newscasts, on its cable news channels, in its newspapers and on its websites (including Facebook). The MSM has allegedly been adopting safeguards to prevent itself from reporting fake news stories,<ref name="Tech Crunch"/><ref name="Barron"/> but it has been unsuccessful based on more recent examples. |
| − | No evidence has ever been presented the Russians, Russian entities, or the Russian government ever hacked, or attempted to hack, the servers of the [[Democratic National Committee]]. Russians did, however, make failed efforts to hack into the voter rolls of state election boards, notably those maintained by [[Georgia]] Secretary of State [[Brian Kemp]]. The Obama White House, however, at the direction of [[Susan Rice]] and others, conflated the issue of Russian attempted hacking of state election boards with the release of DNC emails by [[WikiLeaks]].
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| − | Disgraced FBI director [[James Comey]] testified to Congress that the [[FBI]] never examined DNC servers to determine if they had indeed been hacked, and by who. Evidence suggests the public disclosure of [[John Podesta]], [[Debbie Wasserman Schultz]], and other Democratic operatives' emails came from an inside [[whistleblower]] source. Some speculate the inside [[leak]]er was [[Seth Rich]], whose murder, like the DNC breach itself, was never fully investigated. The fake news narrative of "Russia hacked the DNC," was coined by [[CrowdStrike|a private security firm hired by the DNC]] after the security breach was discovered.
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