Since the right wing media depict Clinton as a Satanic, racist, heroin-addicted, HIV positive, child-murdering ISIS supporter, will it result in a global backlash for media mendacity If she wins anyway? Alan Austin reports.
COULD THERE conceivably be any gain for Americans from this unimaginably bizarre presidential campaign?
Maybe one.
The overreach by the pro-Republican, anti-Clinton media has been so frenzied and so extreme that what reputation they ever had for sound reporting must surely be diminished forever.
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News ran a bogus story late last week – now deleted from their website but available at YouTube – claiming Hillary Clinton was “likely” to be indicted now the FBI has fresh information – “an avalanche coming every day” – related to the Clinton Foundation. His unnamed sources had got their dope from “at least five foreign intelligence agencies”, which had hacked Clinton's email server.
This led to horror headlines across the country:
'Bombshell: FBI’s ‘Far More Expansive’ Clinton Investigations Leading To ‘Likely Indictment'
'Agency moving towards 'likely indictment' of Hillary — FBI sources'
And even this:
'BREAKING: Department of Homeland Security Chairman Officially Indicts Hillary Clinton Of TREASON'
Fox’s reporter Bret Baier later admitted he his story was false:
“I explained the phrasing of one of my answers to Brit Hume on Wednesday night, saying it was inartful ... Well, that just wasn't inartful, it was a mistake, and for that I'm sorry.”
But damage had been done. Donald Trump has been repeating the fabrication to rapturous applause from live crowds, televised to audiences of millions.
NOW: FBI just cleared Clinton of email wrongdoings, but Trump tells MN rally that Clinton will be "under investigation for a long long time" pic.twitter.com/axActyMZaq
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 6, 2016
FBI clears Clinton but Trump tells supporters that she is still being investigated.
Trump’s speeches are then reported by the mainstream press, including Time Magazine:
'Donald Trump Raises Specter of Hillary Clinton Impeachment'
In other outlets, both mainstream and fringe:
'Trump trumpets reports that indictment is likely in Clinton Foundation probe'
'Trump's Closing Argument: Clinton Is A Criminal!'
The proliferation of false stories regarding Ms Clinton range from the vaguely credible to the downright wacky:
'Analysis: Hillary Clinton’s Health Problems Could Make Her Vulnerable to Foreign "Bio-Hackers"’
'BREAKING: DRUG Scandal About To Rock Hillary’s Campaign!'
'Hillary’s ‘Lesbian Relationships’ EXPOSED: Bill’s Lover Tells All!'
'Clinton’s HIV Secret REVEALED – This Could END Hillary’s Campaign!'
'Huckabee: WikiLeaks revealed Clinton's "criminal enterprise"'
'Ex-Apprentice Trump Accuser Was Paid $500,000 By Team Hillary To Fabricate Story'
Some fabrications attempt believability by claiming WikiLeaks as the source. What could be more impeccable? Who is going to check?
Expressing his dismay at the stupidity of such easily-debunked fabrications, an associate said in jest last month: “What will they come up with next? Clinton drinks children’s blood in demonic child sex murder orgy?"
Then, sure enough:
'Wikileaks Exposes Clinton’s Satanic Network. Elites engaged in ritualistic child sacrifice at highest levels'
Here we learn – via Wikileaks of course – that emails reveal a Clinton associate was invited to an occult “spirit cooking” ritual, but those emails “only scratch the surface of the depravity” of the Clinton elite.
We then flip to the online myth-buster Snopes just to verify that this story is indeed “false”.
Many of these fake stories claim that “This is certain to SINK Clinton’s campaign IMMEDIATELY”.
So we then check Huff Post’s composite polling – “updated 33 minutes ago” – and find the impact of this cataclysmic development, if any, is to have nudged Clinton further ahead.
Other concocted stories Snopes has debunked include:
'FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide'
'WHOA! Hillary Caught On Hot Mic Trashing Beyonce’ With RACIAL SLURS!'
'Hillary Clinton 'Accidentally' Gave ISIS $400 Million'
'Russians Hacked My Crowd!'
Donald Trump once boasted:
"I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters."
Well, it turns out Clinton could be a Satanic, racist, heroin-addicted, HIV positive, lesbian, child-murdering ISIS supporter and people will still vote for her.
If, as the composite polls overwhelmingly suggest, Ms Clinton romps it in, will she and the Democrats have the extreme right wing media to thank? Has this tawdry campaign of loopy lies and fear-mongering fakery backfired monumentally?
There will likely be a long period of soul-searching on this destructive period in American history after this week’s poll. If that reflection leads to a rejection of right wing media mendacity, that will a positive. For America and the world.
You can follow Alan Austin on Twitter @alantheamazing.
Trump vs. Clinton: Which one is really worse? https://t.co/6RwrGxsJjc pic.twitter.com/tS1CXUCzt7
— Late Night (@LateNightSeth) November 5, 2016
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
Classic satire: https://t.co/YHMGldWTia #Trump2016
— AussieCapitalist (@AusCapitalist) November 4, 2016
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