Report reveals conspiracy theory about a murdered DNC staff member

According to a Yahoo News survey, a conspiracy theory about a member of the assassinated National Democratic Committee, repeatedly mentioned in Fox News and by the allies of President Donald Trump, was created and promoted by the Russian intelligence services.

The theory centers on Seth Rich, a DNC data director who was shot dead in 2016 when authorities suspected an attempted armed robbery in Washington. Rich's death was quickly seized by various conspiracy theorists on the Internet and by far-right media, as well as by Wikileaks, which offered a $ 20,000 reward for the information contained in the report. ;case.

The theory postulates grossly, without evidence, that Rich was murdered as part of an attempt to conceal alleged crimes by Hillary Clinton. The conspiracy theory made its entry into the general public partly with the help of Fox News, which later retracted an article claiming that Rich was a potential source of leaks of DNC emails published by Wikileaks. Host Sean Hannity, who had also given his antenna time to the theory, later said that he would stop discussing it at the request of Rich's family.

Deborah Sines, a former assistant lawyer investigating the murder of Rich, told Yahoo that US intelligence officials had discovered that Russia had implanted and fomented this theory on the Internet and social media.

Sines said Russian foreign intelligence services were behind a false report that was published on an obscure conspiracy website that often publishes Russian propaganda. The theory was then pushed by Russian RT and Sputnik media, as well as by Russian social media influence operations, revealed Yahoo.

Sines told Yahoo that she had informed special advocate of the time, Robert Mueller, of his findings. Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 US election refers to Rich's theory as "discredited".

NBC News attempts to reach Sines were unsuccessful.

The researchers explored the misinformation campaign conducted by Russia ahead of the 2016 elections, revealing the depth and scale of the operation, which would have affected more than 126 million Americans. Russian intelligence services remained active after the elections, launching a series of new efforts to promote various forms of propaganda, including the rhetoric that divides the racial people.

Social media platforms have taken various steps to prevent similar manipulation efforts, including the large-scale removal of false accounts and the banning of certain types of misinformation. US intelligence officials warned that Russia and other countries were preparing to try to influence the 2020 elections.