Lurid Trump allegations made by Louise Mensch and co-writer came from hoaxer

[TygrBright]

via The Guardian

Lurid Trump allegations made by Louise Mensch and co-writer came from hoaxer

Explosive allegations about Donald Trump made by online writers with large followings among Trump critics were based on bogus information from a hoaxer who falsely claimed to work in law enforcement.

New fake news dilemma: sites publish real scoops amid mess of false reports

Claude Taylor tweeted fake details of criminal inquiries into Trump that were invented by a source whose claim to work for the New York attorney general was not checked, according to emails seen by the Guardian. The allegations were endorsed as authentic and retweeted by his co-writer Louise Mensch.

The source’s false tips included an allegation, which has been aggressively circulated by Mensch and Taylor, that Trump’s inactive fashion model agency is under investigation by New York authorities for possible sex trafficking.

The hoaxer, who fed the information to Taylor by email, said she acted out of frustration over the “dissemination of fake news” by Taylor and Mensch. Their false stories about Trump have included a claim that he was already being replaced as president by Senator Orrin Hatch in a process kept secret from the American public.

Oh.

Quelle surprise.

wearily,
Bright

[johnsonsnap]

1. Mensch is a Yiddish word...

meaning a "a man of integrity and honor" so we shouldn't trust his kind.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Louise Mensch is a woman, and it's her married name,

and it has nothing to do with integrity or honor.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Quelle surprise, indeed.

This is from The Guardian, not some right-wing rag. Mensch and Taylor have been purveyors of gossip and their own brand of fake news (along with begging for contributions for their efforts at "citizen journalism," if that's what you want to call it). They routinely screw up and misuse legal terminology, "report" things that could not possibly be true, and generally encourage the worst tendencies toward confirmation bias. If people want to take them seriously that's their business, but those who excitedly post their unverified gossip shouldn't expect it to be believed and not ridiculed.

[Mr. Ected]

4. In the beginning, some of their prognostications came true

And I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

Then nothing but gibberish started erupting out of them and I heeded the warnings of many fellow DU'ers.

I guess nothing about Trump would surprise me, nothing unimaginable he could do. That makes for a ripe breeding ground for the purveyance of mendacity.

I'll be more careful in the future.

[Blecht]

5. Where are the defenders now?

I hope this will open their eyes -- Mensch is nothing but a huckster.

[Orrex]

6. What? If only this had been obvious from the beginning!

If only people had called her out for her bullshit from the beginning!

If only people had identified her as an unreliable source from the beginning!

If only!

[MineralMan]

7. I know. What a pity, eh?

Oddly enough, though, in another thread, the usual Mensch supporters are trying hard to make it OK.

[Orrex]

8. If only someone had warned them!

[Orrex]

9. kick

Because this is actually kind of a big deal.

[TygrBright]

10. Yup. Thanks. n/t

[FSogol]

11. I'm Shocked!

Not really.