Back in December 2016, sometime after Democrats and the Clinton campaign floated the idea that “fake news” had cost her the election but before they’d switched gears and gone all in on the theory that Russians had hacked the election, Facebook announced that it would be teaming with the Associated Press and Snopes.com to flag fake news on the platform.
So it’s always fun to have a look at what the AP and Snopes have been up to when it comes to fact-checking. The AP recently determined that the Steele dossier, for instance, was not a Clinton campaign document, because “Clinton’s closest aides said they didn’t learn about the research until after the election.” Well, if her closets aides said so …
This next fact-check was done back in April, but The Daily Wire’s Kassy Dillon pulled it up today as another great example of the fact-checking on which social media relies:
This is so dumb. pic.twitter.com/TUPhQYSbIP
— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) August 16, 2018
You can’t see it in the screenshot, so we’ll clue you into what’s false about the claim: “Hillary Clinton did not personally destroy her phone with a hammer.” One of her aides did.
So it’s sort of half-true. Snopes reports:
According to FBI documents, investigators determined a total of thirteen devices were associated with Clinton’s two phone numbers and personal email domain, eight of which she used during her tenure as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. The FBI requested that all thirteen devices be handed over, but Clinton’s attorneys informed the FBI that they were “unable to locate any of these devices,” so the bureau was unable to examine them. Another Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, told FBI agents that the whereabouts of Clinton’s unwanted devices would “frequently become unknown.”
But again, Hillary Clinton herself never picked up a hammer and smashed a cell phone. It’s kind of a gray area.
That’s…there’s no way that’s real…right??
— Adam Trahan (@AdamTrahan) August 16, 2018
Yeah, this is SO DUMB. Everyone knows Hillary Clinton doesn't have the upper body strength to smash her own phones and swing her own hammer.
— Justin T. Haskins (@JustinTHaskins) August 16, 2018
This is self evident, she’s too weak to lift a hammer
— Margaret Wiegand (@_maggiewiegand) August 16, 2018
The reason she didn't do it herself, she may have fallen and couldn't get up or she is simply that lazy. Not that she didn't order it.
— Clint (@RayFlaher) August 16, 2018
"I didn't destroy my phone. Why would I ever destroy a phone? I have people for that."
— Chris Sillman (@sillmanc) August 16, 2018
She didn't smash them with a hammer, she had someone else do it because she doesn't know how to work a hammer. @snopes really should fix this.
— ???? ? (@iSmashew) August 16, 2018
Hillary isn't physically viable enough to do her dirty work. I mean she collapsed trying to get into a van in the August heat.
You really see her bending down and going to town with a hammer?
— Renegade Sailor ?? (@Renegade_Sailor) August 16, 2018
This is a mixture of true and false. Hillary Clinton collapsed and was chucked into the van like a side of beef, but it was September heat.
— calzone (@beatthebookie) August 16, 2018
FACT CHECK: MIXED. It was September, but it also wasn’t particularly hot that day.
And why fact checkers are so horrible….
— John Szpicki (@jszpicki) August 16, 2018
The lenghts that these people will go through in an attempt to exonerate Hillary and her behavior is ridiculous.
— Arturo Mora (@PadCharFan4ever) August 16, 2018
While technically correct…
— George Young (@fourthpercent04) August 16, 2018
that might just be one of the dumbest things I have ever seen
— michael miller (@GeniusGeneral07) August 16, 2018
"She destroyed her phone with the assistance of MC Hammer."
Fact Check: FALSE
— Ray G. (@rlg100619) August 16, 2018
Soon it'll be: Hillary did not actually use a non .gov email address to send or receive emails. Actual email servers connected to the internet did all the sending and receiving.
— Mark Rosenthal-Ayres (@bent_fence) August 16, 2018
Snopes gonna snope
— Jen DinNJ (@JenDinnj) August 16, 2018
Sounds like the “l did not have sex with that woman” type answer.
— David E. LeBlanc (@F150dawg) August 16, 2018
https://twitter.com/catsignal76/status/1030133035763679234
https://twitter.com/deotonic/status/1030189447235751937
I suppose Al Capone never killed anyone, either.
— Pouncing Baptist (@PeculiarBaptist) August 16, 2018
Snopes ? pic.twitter.com/ujU5hptPy4
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) August 16, 2018
Really splitting hairs to defend her, as per usual.
— Ripley (@Uhpinya_Native) August 16, 2018
Claim: Harry Truman dropped the A-bomb on Japan.
Rating: Mixed
What's False: Harry Truman did not personally fly the Enola Gay— Gandalf the Bae (@gary3911) August 16, 2018
For the record, NBC News pulled pretty much the same thing: Hillary Clinton didn’t “acid wash” her emails; a contractor used software called BleachBit to permanently erase them.
#tbt pic.twitter.com/LummBeX64s
— steve (@steveb66871) August 16, 2018
While we’re at it, here’s one more classic from Snopes, which is now fact-checking parody sites:
https://twitter.com/TechnoDestructo/status/1030153781718249473
Related:
What? AP fact-checkers declare the Steele dossier was not a Clinton campaign document https://t.co/PxB4CtjiBG
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 25, 2018
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