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The Big Lies › 2017 › File PF-0108
Bad Call

CNN: U.S. suspects Russian hackers planted the story behind the Qatar crisis

CNN reported that U.S. investigators believed Russian hackers had breached Qatar's state news agency and planted the fake quotes from Qatar's emir that set off the Gulf diplomatic crisis.

First reported Jun 6, 2017 · CNN
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: transcripts.cnn.com. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Democrats

The misattribution added to the 2017 picture of Russia as the culprit behind hacking and disinformation.

What was reported

CNN reported that U.S. investigators believed Russian hackers had breached Qatar's state news agency and planted the fake quotes from Qatar's emir that set off the Gulf diplomatic crisis.

What actually happened

Russia denied involvement. About six weeks later The Washington Post, citing U.S. intelligence officials, reported that senior UAE officials had discussed the plan the day before and that the UAE had arranged the hack, not Russia. The UAE denied it, and CNN's Russia attribution was not borne out by later reporting.

The proof

The Washington Post's July 16, 2017 report, citing U.S. intelligence officials, that the UAE orchestrated the hack.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

CNN: U.S. suspects Russian hackers planted the story behind the Qatar crisis — Bad Call. The Washington Post's July 16, 2017 report, citing U.S. intelligence officials, that the UAE orchestrated the hack. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/cnn-russian-hackers-qatar-crisis/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

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