How a baseless conspiracy theory grew around Seth Rich’s murder

[Independent voter]

Police theorize that Seth Rich's murder was a botched robbery as there had been several robberies in the neighborhood. Why don't we go with that?

Hannity is an idiot.





There's also video at the link

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/basel...-richs-murder/

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: how an unsolved murder in the nation’s capital turned into a conspiracy theory, and then became a case study of how false news spreads. It underscores, once again, the problem of polarized politics and divided sources of information.

John Yang reports.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX News: To the extent of my ability, I am not going to stop trying to find the truth.

JOHN YANG: The story of Seth Rich’s death is a story of how fake news spreads from Web sites and online forums like Reddit to prime-time cable TV.

SEAN HANNITY: Another massive breaking news story, explosive developments in the mysterious murder of former DNC staffer Seth Rich.

JOHN YANG: Early one morning last July, 27-year-old Rich was found fatally shot near his Washington, D.C., home. Politics had drawn the Omaha native to the city, and he was working at the Democratic National Committee when he died.

The case is still unsolved. D.C. police theorize it was a botched robbery, the latest in a string of attacks in the neighborhood. As Rich’s family and friends mourned, he became the subject of a baseless conspiracy theory.

The claim was that he was the source of the DNC e-mails about the Hillary Clinton campaign that WikiLeaks released later that month.

MAN: A private investigator says there is evidence to show Rich was communicating with WikiLeaks.

JOHN YANG: Last week, FOX’s Washington station broadcast an interview with FOX News legal commentator Rod Wheeler.

QUESTION: Do you have sources in the FBI saying that there is information that…

ROD WHEELER, FOX News: For sure.

QUESTION: .. that could link Seth Rich to WikiLeaks?

ROD WHEELER: Absolutely. Yes. And that’s confirmed.

JOHN YANG: Two days later, Wheeler backtracked, saying his statements were a miscommunication, but not before Trump ally Sean Hannity devoted a portion of his FOX show to the story, giving Wheeler a much bigger platform for his unsubstantiated claims.

ROD WHEELER: With the totality of everything else that I found in this case, it’s very consistent for a person with my experience to begin to think, well, perhaps there were some e-mail communications between Seth and WikiLeaks.

JOHN YANG: For some conservative commentators, retractions and fact-checks have appeared to make little difference. Supporters of President Trump are trying to use the story to discredit the investigation into Russian meddling in the election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Newt Gingrich on “FOX & Friends” this past Sunday:

NEWT GINGRICH, Former Speaker of the House: We have this very strange story now of this young man who worked for the Democratic National Committee who apparently was assassinated at 4:00 in the morning, having given WikiLeaks something like 23,000 — I’m sorry — 53,000 e-mails and 17,000 attachments. Nobody is investigating that.

JOHN YANG: There is no evidence for those claims.

Yesterday, the FOX News Web site retracted a story it had published on Rich’s death, saying, “It wasn’t initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require, and has since been removed.”

On his radio show yesterday, Hannity initially doubled down.

SEAN HANNITY: I am not FOX.com or FOXNews.com. I retracted nothing.

Alexios Mantzarlis is at the Poynter Institute, a journalism school.

ALEXIOS MANTZARLIS, Poynter: Basic journalistic principles weren’t met. Right? The story was run without the source being properly vetted and without the D.C. police or the Rich family being consulted.

JOHN YANG: Today, Rich’s parents wrote in The Washington Post: “The amount of pain and anguish this has caused us is unbearable. With every conspiratorial flare-up, we are forced to relive Seth’s murder and a small piece of us dies as more of Seth’s memory is torn away from us.”

ALEXIOS MANTZARLIS: We have two grieving parents who would like to find out the truth about their murdered son, and what they’re getting instead is avalanche of conspiracy theories and politically motivated spin.

JOHN YANG: On his FOX show last night, Hannity said he’d had heartfelt talks with the Rich family.

SEAN HANNITY: Out of respect for the family’s wishes, for now, I am not discussing this matter at this time.

JOHN YANG: But then he spoke to his fans.

SEAN HANNITY: Please do not interpret what I’m saying tonight to mean anything. Don’t read into this. I promise you I am not doing — going to stop doing my job.

JOHN YANG: Analysts say it underscores the fragmented media world we live in.

ALEXIOS MANTZARLIS: The lesson here is that it is easy to find online and in this enormous wealth of information that there is around us all kinds of stuff, all kinds of conspiracies, all kinds of hoaxes.

If you are predisposed to think that something sketchy happened with the DNC and the leaks, then you are more likely to believe stories that aren’t necessarily true, and as this one. It has been roundly debunked.

JOHN YANG: But still a story that shows no signs of going away, at least in some circles.

[Puupi]

Isn't Newt Gingrich the one making the accusations here?

[Wyrt]

It was all a desperate attempt to draw attention away from Trump.

[Deleted]

The funny thing is (or even better: the sad thing) that there was a thread on MMO-C OT as well, where the typical right wing filter bubblers believed everything fox faked. Seems there are still some left who believe the lies. These will be the same who are going to reelect trump in 2020. Hopefully they will be a few only up to then.

This case shows that fox news had become what breitbart was. A parrot for conspiracy theories.

[scmpoe]

Police theorize that Seth Rich's murder was a botched robbery as there had been several robberies in the neighborhood. Why don't we go with that?

Hannity is an idiot.

There is no evidence of it. Robberies occur pretty much everywhere in the country constantly, that means an unsolved murder has to be a botched robbery? The "robbers" shot him in the back and then stole nothing?? Yea ok.

There is literally more evidence towards the 'conspiracy theory' than the botched robbery crap.

The truth is no one knows what happened. It's ironic when someone calls Hannity the idiot.

This story is a brilliant example of both sides blindly believing their sides narrative and ignoring all else.

Also very ironic how this article is fake news about fake news.

[Dezerte]

Some people masturbate to conspiracy theories.

[scmpoe]

Some people masturbate to conspiracy theories.

Like liberals do with the Trump - Russia conspiracy.

[Dezerte]

Like liberals do with the Trump - Russia conspiracy.

Like 9/11 or the Moon Landing. Can't beat the classics, unless you mean beat it.

[Noxx79]

Like liberals do with the Trump - Russia conspiracy.

Except there is evidence with trump and his campaign, not with rich, Despite your willfull disconnect from reality.

[Damajin]

I think only a fucking idiot thinks there's nothing fishy or wrong with the Rich murder.

[PersephoneDankles]

There is literally more evidence towards the 'conspiracy theory' than the botched robbery crap.

And what would that evidence be?

[Puupi]

I'm not immediately ruling out this conspiracy theory myself. Currently it's an unsolved crime; until the police has caught the perpetrator we have no idea (not that catching the guy actually proves anything, but still) what the motive of the killing was. One can only speculate and if indeed Seth Rich did have wikileaks connections, there is a possibility someone wanted him dead.

[I Push Buttons]

There is no evidence of it. Robberies occur pretty much everywhere in the country constantly, that means an unsolved murder has to be a botched robbery? The "robbers" shot him in the back and then stole nothing?? Yea ok.

There is literally more evidence towards the 'conspiracy theory' than the botched robbery crap.

The truth is no one knows what happened. It's ironic when someone calls Hannity the idiot.

This story is a brilliant example of both sides blindly believing their sides narrative and ignoring all else.

Also very ironic how this article is fake news about fake news.

Only we have one side reporting what the police, who actually have all the evidence, are saying...

And the other "side" (I say "side" since its only literal retards pushing this story, not the right) is reporting a story made up by a bunch of autistic children on 4chan, based on literally no evidence.

Even the guy who originally "broke" this story has since backtracked and recanted everything.

[NYC17]

There is no evidence of it. Robberies occur pretty much everywhere in the country constantly, that means an unsolved murder has to be a botched robbery? The "robbers" shot him in the back and then stole nothing?? Yea ok.

There is literally more evidence towards the 'conspiracy theory' than the botched robbery crap.

The truth is no one knows what happened. It's ironic when someone calls Hannity the idiot.

This story is a brilliant example of both sides blindly believing their sides narrative and ignoring all else.

Also very ironic how this article is fake news about fake news.

There literally is not. You don't get to jump from robbery to grand political conspiracy based on nothing but delusional fantasy.

That's not how it works.

[ati87]

And what would that evidence be?

confirmed talking between members of the Trump campaign and with the not so average Russians?

Sure if they did anything illegal is another question, that's part of the investigation.

[PersephoneDankles]

confirmed talking between members of the Trump campaign and with the not so average Russians?

Sure if they did anything illegal is another question, that's part of the investigation.

Sorry, this doesn't immediately make sense to me. Are you saying there's confirmation that Seth Rich was talking to the Trump campaign and "not so average Russians"?

[zenkai]

How do they consider it a Botch Robbery when nothing was stolen? This doesn't mean I buy into the conspiracy (for those dumbasses about to jump all over me) Just because there was other robberies, that was it? It can be argued but that isn't definite proof of motive.

[Felya]

There is no evidence of it. Robberies occur pretty much everywhere in the country constantly, that means an unsolved murder has to be a botched robbery? The "robbers" shot him in the back and then stole nothing?? Yea ok.

You don't believe the police who investigated the string of armed robberies and this one, to come to their conclusion? Because? It doesn't fit the movie narrative that an armed robber can have his gone go off and then flee, instead of robbing them?

There is literally more evidence towards the 'conspiracy theory' than the botched robbery crap.

As in 0... there is also 0 evidence he revealed the leak or even had access to it. You are the reason the word literally doesn't mean anything anymore.

The truth is no one knows what happened. It's ironic when someone calls Hannity the idiot.

This story is a brilliant example of both sides blindly believing their sides narrative and ignoring all else.

Well, no... this post is an example of you doing it... not some sides...

Also very ironic how this article is fake news about fake news.

What?

- - - Updated - - -

How do they consider it a Botch Robbery when nothing was stolen? This doesn't mean I buy into the conspiracy (for those dumbasses about to jump all over me) Just because there was other robberies, that was it? It can be argued but that isn't definite proof of motive.

Because he was shot in the back during a botched robbery and fled because murder is not worth sticking around to pick his pocket. Because the cops have seen similar actions, but without the gun going off.

[zenkai]

You don't believe the police who investigated the string of armed robberies and this one, to come to their conclusion? Because? It doesn't fit the movie narrative that an armed robber can have his gone go off and then flee, instead of robbing them?



As in 0... there is also 0 evidence he revealed the leak or even had access to it. You are the reason the word literally doesn't mean anything anymore.



Well, no... this post is an example of you doing it... not some sides...



What?

- - - Updated - - -



Because he was shot in the back during a botched robbery and fled because murder is not worth sticking around to pick his pocket. Because the cops have seen similar actions, but without the gun going off.

Yeah you shot someone you wanted to rob, sticking around another 20 seconds to grab his wallet totally not worth it, but at least the murder was.

[Felya]

Let me make this abundantly clear, the reason one cannot believe that this meets the mo of a string of robberies, is not because "robberies happen all the time", but:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority

Just because you cannot think of a string of robberies in the area, where the perp approached from behind, brandishing a gun and demanding money, doesn't mean you know better than what police is reporting. You are not a special snowflake, who knows better than the cops, without any unique evidence that police has not reviewed. Everything isn't a conspiracy, because you think everyone else is a moron...