Skip to main content
  • Online media
  • Tariffs
  • Jeanine Pirro
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • RSS
  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate

Media Matters for America

  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives

Media Matters for America

  • Nav
  • Search
  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives
  • Online media
  • Tariffs
  • Jeanine Pirro
  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Trump sitting in front of papers

Ceci Freed / Media Matters

The Hill pushed what it called a debunked conspiracy theory at least 9 times

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published 11/25/19 11:32 AM EST

After Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) falsely suggested that Ukraine was responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election, The Hill repeated it on Twitter at least nine times -- despite already reporting two days earlier that the claim was both false and part of a Russian disinformation effort.

On the November 24 edition of Fox News Sunday, Kennedy was asked, “Who do you believe was responsible for hacking the DNC and Clinton campaign computers, their emails? Was it Russia, or Ukraine?” He responded: “I don’t know, nor do you, nor do any of us.” After anchor Chris Wallace reminded him that “the entire intelligence community says it was Russia,” Kennedy responded, “Right, but it could also be Ukraine.”

Former White House Russia expert Fiona Hill explained in her testimony to the House impeachment inquiry that “this is a fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves.” After President Donald Trump pushed the lie again in a Friday Fox & Friends interview, an article from The Hill noted that this was a “debunked claim” and a “conspiracy theory,” and included Hill’s statement that Russia’s security services had pushed the lie themselves. The New York Times also reported on Friday that the American intelligence community has briefed senators that “Russia had engaged in a yearslong campaign to essentially frame Ukraine as responsible for Moscow’s own hacking of the 2016 election.”

Despite The Hill’s own acknowledgement of the facts, the outlet published at least nine tweets repeating Kennedy’s claim without explicitly noting it was false or a lie being spread by the Russian government.

Information warfare expert Molly McKew pointed to this tweet from The Hill as a “brief case study in how the Hill amplifies lies and misinformation.” Indeed, The Hill has demonstrated a pattern of uncritically passing on misinformation from Trump.

The Latest

  1. As Trump has done “more to monetize the presidency than anyone who has ever occupied the White House,” a Daily Wire host claims he “hasn't really enriched himself relatively all that much”

    Video & Audio 05/28/25 11:16 AM EDT

  2. An intelligence report debunked MAGA media claims about Tren de Aragua and Venezuela. A Trump official is now under fire for reportedly ordering the report be redone.

    Research/Study 05/28/25 9:01 AM EDT

  3. Fox News host calls for CBS' Scott Pelley to be arrested following commencement speech at Wake Forest

    Video & Audio 05/27/25 6:41 PM EDT

  4. Ben Shapiro on Russia attacking Kyiv: “This sort of both sides-ism from the Trump administration and from President Trump is the reason why Putin is pushing”

    Video & Audio 05/27/25 1:15 PM EDT

  5. Charlie Kirk says David Hogg looks like “a survivor from a concentration camp”

    Video & Audio 05/27/25 12:42 PM EDT

Pagination

  • Previous page ‹‹
  • …
  • Current page 27
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • The Hill

    thehill_mmfatag
  • Trump impeachment

    Trump Impeachment Inquiry
  • National security

Related

  1. The Hill can’t stop advancing Trump’s lies about the whistleblower

    Article 11/05/19 11:04 AM EST

  2. The Hill 10 times pushed a Trump lie from his press conference on ISIS leader's death

    Article 10/28/19 11:28 AM EDT

  3. With minimum wage bill, news organizations help Republican Sen. Josh Hawley rebrand as a working class ally

    Article 06/16/25 2:32 PM EDT

Media Matters for America

Sign up for email updates
  • About
  • Contact
  • Corrections
  • Submissions
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • RSS

© 2025 Media Matters for America

RSS