The following is a news analysis.
A decade ago it would have been hard to imagine a major, reputable news organization publishing disinformation and propaganda, and failing to do even the most basic fact checking. But today, it’s become almost routine.
A case in point is an article in The Washington Post by someone named Philip Bump. In the partisan piece, Bump seeks to disparage fair reporting, or reporting that doesn’t lean far left. In today’s managed information environment, that sort of reporting and independent thinking is to be discouraged and controversialized by those seeking to control narratives on behalf of various special interests.
As part of Bump’s efforts, he repeats a long-ago-refuted false talking point fabricated by the propaganda group Media Matters and its followers. The false talking point claimed that there was no government intrusion of my CBS computers while I worked there as an investigative correspondent. Instead (says the made-up story repeated, at the time, by numerous propagandists and outlets that didn’t check their facts), “the backspace key” on a computer was stuck.
That Bump would be republishing such a false and defamatory claim years later should be shocking to the sensibilities of journalism. But today, it seems to pass with a “ho-hum.” No editor even apparently bothered to do a cursory fact check. Fairness and accuracy rank far down on the list behind advancing narratives and agendas.
What makes this sort of false reporting more egregious is that the accurate information was readily accessible and has been widely reported. Bump willfully and maliciously ignored its existence in order to publish a false, fabricated version of events.
To be sure, even if Bump’s article were to be corrected, it’s unlikely the same number of people would see the correction as read the original misstatement.
To review, for the record, CBS News long ago confirmed and announced the intrusion Into my computers.
Additionally, the government nature of the intrusions has been confirmed by numerous independent forensic analyses, taken seriously by the courts, and referred to in sworn affidavits by a former FBI attorney and a former National Security Agency (NSA) forensics expert.
Further, one former federal agent who took part in the remote computer spying of me and others has provided details of the black operations.
Read more about Attkisson v. DOJ here.
To be sure, fighting the federal government in court when it refuses to hold its own accountable isn’t easy. Years of my attempts to seek accountability have been stalled by the Dept. of Justice and those responsible for the intrusions successfully claiming immunity, refusing to turn over documents for discovery, and generally spending unlimited taxpayer money fighting to keep the case from moving forward to a jury.
To support my independent reporting and fight government overreach in Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI, visit here: https://www.gofundme.com/sharyl-attkisson-4th-am-litigation
It’s made all the more difficult by so-called news organizations that seem to now exist solely for the purpose of advancing certain narrative of special interests, rather than reporting factually.
My current lawsuit against two ex-federal agents who were involved in the computer intrusions is moving forward, with the Dept. of Justice recently approving the hiring of private lawyers to defend the ex-Secret Service agent involved, who was already serving time in prison on a separate corruption conviction. That’s according to records filed in court.
To read more about the Media Matters and Philip Bump disinformation, see the excerpt below, with full information at this link.
The False “Stuck Back Space Key” Narrative
In 2014, after initial forensic exams revealed remote government intrusions into the operative computers, the CBS Toshiba Laptop and the iMac Desktop; Attkisson was working on a new computer, a MacBook Air, and managed to captured a brief video of deletions of data being made remotely on that device.
After Attkisson posted the video, a disinformation campaign was launched by the Obama and Clinton-affiliated smear group “Media Matters.” Assisted by their media associates and affiliates they maliciously and with reckless disregard for the truth claimed a Department of Justice Inspector General exam disproved the allegations of government intrusions into Attkisson?s computers. They further alleged that the signs of intrusion were simply due to a “stuck back space key.” This is demonstrably false on multiple levels:
Importantly, the DOJ IG never examined Attkisson’s MacBook Air pictured in the video.
There is no “back space key” on the MacBook Air.
The MacBook Air was wiped remotely at speeds not possible with a “stuck” or held down key.
Neither did the DOJ IG examine the main computer at issue: the compromised CBS Toshiba laptop.
Therefore, it is false to state or imply that the DOJ IG ruled out or was in a position to rule out the remote intrusions into Attkisson’s computers, which were proven through multiple forensic exams. (Continued at link.)
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