As some media outlets, albeit reluctantly, are finally admitting in their coverage of the Hunter Biden gun trial that the "Laptop From Hell" is real and not the result of Russian disinformation, a main source of that fake news story in 2020, Politico, is now avoiding its own highly embarrassing role in promoting the now discredited conspiracy theory. Perhaps Josh Gerstein and Betsy Woodruff Swan hoped we wouldn't notice their attempt to deflect responsibility from Politico on Tuesday in "Prosecutors open their case against Hunter Biden by playing his own voice for the jury."
Buried deep, deep down in their story -- about 30 paragraphs deep -- was this paragraph with the responsibility-deflection twist:
Jurors also saw first-hand the infamous laptop that Biden allegedly dropped off at a Delaware repair shop and never retrieved. The disclosure of its contents, including photos of Biden with drugs and in hotel rooms with women, caused a major dust-up in the 2020 presidential race, as Democrats insisted it was likely Russian propaganda and discussion about it was suppressed on social media sites.
"Democrats insisted it was likely Russian propaganda and discussion about it was suppressed on social media sites." And who, pray tell, was at the forefront of giving the Democrats justification to promote the laptop disinformation as well as justification for social media sites to suppress the story? Why, none other than Politico itself.
On October 19, 2020 the Gold Standard of promoting disinformation, the Mockingbird media journalist and national security reporter for Politico, Natasha Bertrand, engaged in election interference by writing this fake news story: "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say." These people laundered the Antony Blinken's spin:
More than 50 former senior intelligence officials have signed on to a letter outlining their belief that the recent disclosure of emails allegedly belonging to Joe Biden’s son “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
Did Politico ever apologize for spreading election interference disinformation? No.
Was there an apology from Natasha Bertrand? No.
In a normal world Bertrand should have been forced out of journalism in disgrace for perpetrating the biggest fake news of 2020 election. Instead she moved up the journalism ladder to CNN where today she is again acting as the "Gold Standard" Mockingbird reporter as their Pentagon correspondent.
Meanwhile Politico hopes readers will forget its role in "fortifying" the 2020 election by pointing fingers in other directions instead of looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for gross journalistic malpractice.
PS: Here's our NewsBusters video from 2020 by Bill D'Agostino on the "Russian disinfo" laptop-aganda:
