Those zany progressive kids over at BuzzFeed are at it again, breaking unbelievable insider news and then retracting statements. In a craftily designed-for-clicks tweet, the self-styled “international news organization” claimed that an Indiana man serving a three-year prison sentence for defacing and vandalizing a synagogue was inspired by the popular conservative Ben Shapiro.
In part, the tweet read: “A man who vandalized a synagogue with Nazi symbols told federal agents his road to radicalization included meeting with the far-right group Identity Evropa and reading Ben Shapiro.”
And then the tweet vanished. But not fast enough, as conservative pundits and citizen journalists ferreted out the truth and lambasted the news organization for printing the bold-faced lie.
According to Buzzfeed, "A man who vandalized a synagogue with Nazi symbols told federal agents his road to radicalization included … reading Ben Shapiro."
I pulled the court records to see if this was true, what I found is in this thread… pic.twitter.com/CiX9lRBNNP
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) May 27, 2019
What’s the Real Scoop?
Nolan Brewer, the 21-year old Nazi-sympathizer, and his obviously discerning teenage wife are the two hate-mongering individuals behind BuzzFeed’s stellar reporting. According to a Justice Department statement, the pair “openly identified with Nazism and white supremacy” and targeted the synagogue because it was “full of ethnic Jews.”
But there was absolutely no mention of Shapiro by Brewer in any interview whatsoever. Shapiro’s name did come up in the sentencing memorandum issued by Brewer’s lawyer, who attempted to down-play the anti-Semitism of his client. The statement claimed the wife read Shapiro’s articles, as if that would inspire leniency with the court. And that’s the extent of Ben Shapiro’s extreme radicalization of Brewer and his blushing bride.
You’d Think They’d Learn
The folks at BuzzFeed tout their international news reporters and claim “Our mission is to report to you: We cover what you care about, break big stories that hold major institutions accountable for their actions, and expose injustices that change people’s lives.” Sure, if you can find their breaking and earth-shattering reporting what with all the quizzes, life hacks, and such. On the landing page, you can click a link to find out what your future spouse’s name will be by your Taco Bell order. Or name a baby boy to find out what kind of wedding one will have.
Somewhere in this chaotic and juvenile jumble of random time sucks is a Woodward and Bernstein level of investigative reporting. They did break the story of President Donald Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, lying about the boss’s property transactions in Russia, at the direct order of the president himself.
Oh wait, no that was also not true: Special counsel Robert Mueller debunked that exclusive in a matter of hours.
Ben Shapiro
But what about the infamous Steele Dossier? BuzzFeed was the first outlet to publish the unverified, and now known as fiction, document compiled by a former British intelligence officer during the 2016 presidential showdown.
You’d think they might employ additional fact checkers before publishing salacious gossip.
Shapiro didn’t spend much time in decrying the idiocy of the BuzzFeed claim, but he did call it garbage and stated, “Yes, if there’s one thing I’m known for — as one of the most prominent Orthodox Jews, targets of the alt-right, and critics of the alt-right in America — it’s directing Nazis to attack synagogues.”
At least someone kept their wits about them.
~
At Liberty Nation, we love to hear from our readers. Comment and join the discussion.
