CNN, the Washington Post and Seth Rich

CNN (Very Fake News) • May 16, 2017

Seth Rich is a name that everyone should know by now. Summary: he was a DNC staffer who was killed. And, a Fox affiliate cited a private investigator claiming he leaked emails to WikiLeaks. Whether he disclosed information to WikiLeaks is not relevant to this post. The coverage is the interesting part.

First, let’s look at CNN. Oh wait, they totally ignored the story.

But, now, the Washington Post has covered the story. Of course, they waited until they could refute it.

I’m still not sure why they waited until they could refute it. But, anyway, the actual article cites a family spokesman and the chief spokesman for the D.C. police. Those are named sources – which is a pleasant change! But, why are they believable?

The original Fox story cites someone claimed to be hired by the family. So, who should we believe? Why should we believe the spokesman over the investigator?

Also, the D.C. police’s chief spokesman is cited. The original story had a note that the investigator said the police were told to stand down from the investigation. If that is the case the D.C. police would certainly lie about it. So, who do you believe?

Therein lies in the problem with news today. Who you believe isn’t based on facts. It’s based upon what you want to believe. Finding the truth is like a never ending shell game.

Edit: WaPo’s family spokesman is Brad Bauman. Here’s his bio.

Brad Bauman is a political consultant working for Democratic candidates for office and progressive causes. Bauman is the former Executive Director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

This might help determine if WaPo’s story should be trusted.

Update (3/15/2020): re-reading this, I think it's good the Washington Post waited. I'm tired of news organizations jumping on stories as soon as possible.

However, I'm standing by my statement that the news isn't based on facts. It is a shell game. If you believe Seth Rich was just a random homicide then you'll believe the spokesman that works with Democratic candidates. If not, you'll read the updated story and claim Mr. Wheeler was threatened (Archive).

Mr. Rich's death is still suspicious and, unfortunately, it likely won't be solved. Without that we can never really know what happened. We only have the words of people claiming to know things.