Just one month ago, the left was extremely concerned about “fake news” tricking people into believing false things. Here’s something they might want to look at:
- New York Times: Obama Strikes Back at Russia for Election Hacking
- USA Today: Obama sanctions Russian officials over election hacking
- The Guardian: Obama expels 35 Russian diplomats in retaliation for US election hacking
- AFP: US sanctions Russia over vote hacking
- CNN: House Democrats to offer bill on Russia vote hacking
- BBC: Republicans Ryan and McConnell back Russia vote hack probe
- BBC: Can US election hack be traced to Russia?
- France 24: US expels 35 Russian diplomats over election hacking
- Fortune: Obama Administration Will Announce Response to Russian Election Hack
- CNBC: Russia’s election hack is a serious threat to US democracy
- Yahoo: What we know about Russia’s alleged hacking of US vote
I could go on, but you get the idea. What all of these have in common is they describe the theft of emails from John Podesta and a few others as “vote hacking” or “election hacking.” This is grossly misleading, as it suggests that, you know, the actual vote was hacked.
It’s particularly misleading as it comes on the heels on intense interest in allegations that the voting machine totals in three key states were hacked. These allegations were never substantiated (and were denied by the White House), but the idea was planted, creating fertile soil for the media’s extremely sloppy headlines.
Given all the fake news, it’s no great surprise that a recent YouGov/Economist poll found that a majority (52%) of Democrats believe that Russia tampered with vote tallies in order to get Trump elected.
Before the election, the media (e.g., the New York Times) were very concerned that hacking allegations could undermine confidence in the legitimacy of the election. But that was before Trump was elected. Now that Trump is elected, undermining confidence in the legitimacy of the election is the order of the day.
Internet Scofflaw 