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The Big Lies › 2017 › File PF-0105
Retracted

Fox News Retracts Seth Rich-WikiLeaks Story, Later Settles With Family

A FoxNews.com story claimed murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich had been in contact with WikiLeaks and was the source of leaked DNC emails.

First reported May 16, 2017 · Fox News, FoxNews.com
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: nbcnews.com. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Republicans

The story served a narrative shifting blame for the DNC leak away from Russia.

What was reported

A FoxNews.com story claimed murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich had been in contact with WikiLeaks and was the source of leaked DNC emails.

What actually happened

The story fueled a conspiracy theory that Rich, not Russian intelligence, leaked the emails. About a week later Fox removed the story, saying it did not meet the network's editorial standards. Rich's parents sued, and Fox reached a settlement with them in November 2020; Mueller's investigation attributed the DNC hack to Russian military intelligence.

The proof

Fox News' own retraction statement and its 2020 settlement with Rich's parents.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

Fox News Retracts Seth Rich-WikiLeaks Story, Later Settles With Family — Retracted. Fox News' own retraction statement and its 2020 settlement with Rich's parents. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/fox-news-seth-rich-retraction/

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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