The time I tangled with the Fox News reporter behind the Seth Rich murder conspiracy theory

Last week, Fox News anchor Sean Hannity reheated the long-cold conspiracy theory connecting the murder of Seth Rich, a 27-year-old staffer at the Democratic National Committee, to WikiLeaks’ publication of stolen DNC emails. As the controversy around the cruel, debunked story has swirled, most coverage has focused on Hannity, who aggressively promoted the story before retreating on May 23.

Less well known is Malia Zimmerman, the FoxNews.com reporter who wrote the now-retracted May 16 investigative report that fueled Hannity’s crusade. Zimmerman has covered a wide gamut of right-wing boogiemen since joining FoxNews.com in 2015, from potential voter fraud by undocumented immigrants in California to the federal government allegedly confiscating firearms. Fox News uses her stories to lend editorial heft to broadcast segments, and conspiracy-minded outlets like InfoWars and The Blaze stoke paranoia among readers with her reporting. Still, while her byline is a semi-regular sight for readers on the conservative and conspiratorial fringes of the web, it is unfamiliar to most mainstream journalists.

Except me.


https://qz.com/992476/the-time-i-tangled-with-the-fox-news-reporter-behind-sean-hannitys-seth-rich-murder-conspiracy-theory/