Thread by @CraigSilverman

My latest story reveals that disinfo-peddling site True Pundit is run by Mike D Moore, an ex-journalist w/ criminal record and history of ripping people off:
buzzfeednews.com/article/craigs…

Today we have a perfect example of why this news grifter is successful at fooling people. THREAD:

True Pundit published a recent story that claimed former FBI lawyer Lisa Page told a private congressional hearing that China hacked Hillary Clinton’s home server, and the FBI covered it up. BUT her lawyer and a Republican Rep. soon said publicly she didn't say that. False.

Important note: The Republican Rep is Louie Gohmert. He has been pushing the still-unverified claim that China hacked Clinton’s server. If Page had confirmed it, Gohmert would've been vindicated. But he went on Fox News and said she didn’t know anything abt China and Clinton.

For True Pundit's story to be true, Rep. Gohmert would have to be lying to cover up the *exact* thing he's trying to expose.

Page’s lawyer would also have to be lying. Both know others were in the room, and a leaked transcript could refute them. So: the Page claim is wrong.

But TP played this well. Page gave closed door testimony, which provides cover to make up what she said. Moore credited his claim to anonymous FBI sources, which is common in his “exclusives.” He's boasted since day one of being connected to the intel/FBI community. From 2016:

Another piece is the underlying story about China hacking Clinton. This is a claim made by Rep. Gohmert and others. It’s currently unverified, but is circulating and many people already believe it. Moore fused his false claim to an existing narrative people are invested in. Key.

Today Daily Caller gave Moore a gift: it reported, citing anon sources, that China hacked Clinton:
dailycaller.com/2018/08/27/chi…

Now Moore's false story seems more credible to some, even though his claim was BS. And he’s now pushing the DC story as vindication of his “scoop":

He’s claiming "True Pundit broke the national story that Hillary’s private emails were hacked by the Chinese, according to FBI.” It did *not*. He published demonstrably false story about Lisa Page, and attached it to the China hacking claims already circulating. They're separate.

But many people aren’t going to read closely to see that Moore didn’t break the news about China. They will see him claiming credit and ignore what he originally published. He does this over and over again. See:

Today I’ve been getting emails like this, and tweets, telling me that Moore and TP are vindicated by the Daily Caller Story. They aren’t. But this does show how effective his strategy of fusing false claims to real narratives has been.

He boasts about his deep FBI/intel sources, his journalism award (from 22 yrs ago), his work in “intel,” and often links to real documents to lay the groundwork. He weaves a story that mixes real elements with fake details, and pretends that these real events are his “scoops”

This is pure propaganda, and it's powering his web traffic, merch sales, Patreon,and PayPal donations. It’s also poisoning people. I’ve gotten emails from ppl who say their family members believe what’s on TP and have become infected with conspiratorial thinking.

You can read my full story to see how Moore has been puffing up his credentials and ripping people for a long time, and how this positioned him to capitalize in 2016 and beyond:

buzzfeednews.com/article/craigs…

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