The Anatomy of a Smear

Here's how the right's big eleventh-hour smear on Obama was carried out.

First the Murdoch-owned Times of London reported Thursday that Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango, is living in a Boston public-housing complex. It's unclear how the paper learned of the woman's presence in the U.S.

From there, the story quickly got taken up by the right-wing echo chamber. Fox News (also Murdoch-owned, of course), Drudge, the Boston Herald, and various ... Full Story »

Posted by Fabrice Florin

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Review

Jim Lang
3.3
by Jim Lang - Nov. 1, 2008

This story tracks the publication history of news concerning Obama's aunt living in Boston from it's origin in Rupert Murdoch's London Times up to an AP story. The theme of this article is an unsupported suspicion that the leak of information by government sources is a political smear orchestrated by McCain supporters.

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