At about 9:30 p.m. on the west coast, the Clinton-supporting mainstream media began an attempt to kill Bernie Sanders’ campaign. This attack on Sanders, with the list of participants reading like a Who’s Who of media, began less than 12 hours before the polls are slated to open in six states for the last Super Tuesday of the Democratic presidential campaign. Never before this undeniable attack on the Bernie Sanders’ campaign has the media so obviously — and intentionally — misled the American public.

USA Today was one of the first outlets to get on the Associated Press-led “kill Bernie Sanders’ campaign” bandwagon with its headline “Clinton Is Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee,” but at least USA Today had the sense to include the word “presumptive.” Other outlets had no such qualms, with The New York Times claiming “Hillary Clinton Has Clinched Democratic Nomination, Survey Reports” and CNN reporting “Hillary Clinton Clinches Democratic Presidential Nomination.”

CNN accused of media bias against Bernie Sanders after focusing too much on super delegates https://t.co/gGGigGzPhH — The Independent (@Independent) June 7, 2016

According to the information provided in a PBS article on Clinton’s clinched nomination, the announcement is the result of the combination of her “decisive weekend victory” over Bernie Sanders in Puerto Rico and the results of a survey of the superdelegates by the Associated Press. What PBS calls decisive is anything but. In fact, according to a CNN report on the Puerto Rico primary, Clinton’s win gave her 36 delegates, while Bernie Sanders ended up with 20. PBS did not stop there.

“Hillary Clinton will become the first woman to top the presidential ticket of a major U.S. political party, capturing commitments Monday from the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.”

Clinton did not “capture” anything on Monday. What actually happened was a series of telephone calls placed and emails sent by the AP. The AP survey results claim the uncommitted superdelegates intend to throw their support behind the Clinton campaign, regardless of how Bernie Sanders does in today’s six primaries.

Before readers begin thinking this is a loony conspiracy theory cooked up by a Bernie Sanders supporter, take a moment to look at the AP’s corporate structure. According to the AP’s 2015 financials, the company ” is a New York not-for-profit corporation with a regular membership of U.S. daily newspapers and an associate membership of broadcasters and non-daily newspapers totaling approximately 1,300.”

The AP’s Board of Directors includes representatives from many of the nation’s largest media corporations, including The New York Times and Hearst Corporation. Both media giants are also mentioned on a list of Clinton campaign donors published in May 2015 by Politico.

Congrats to AP for proving that @BernieSanders is correct when he says the establishment is corrupt & that includes the media #APRetract — AzMomma (@jilliansw) June 7, 2016

Even without the AP connection, Clinton’s donor list includes company leaders from a number of the very same media outlets that have published misleading reports over the past few hours that appear specifically designed to ruin Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Among the donors listed by Politico are Thomson Reuters, Newsmax Media (whose headline reads “Hillary Locks Up Nomination!”), Pittsburgh’s The News Tribune, New York Daily News, CNN, and even Politico itself.

It is important to remember that the donors listed above had already thrown their support behind the Clinton campaign more than a year ago. Does it really come as a surprise to find that they have wrongly announced her as the winner only hours before one of the most decisive primaries of the entire election season — one that could push Bernie Sanders toward a win?

If readers still think this is ridiculous conjecture, the conspiracy to kill Bernie Sanders’ campaign was expected — just not yet. On May 23, Chris Mathews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Mathews, told Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, the networks were colluding to ruin Sanders’ campaign.

“I’m told by the experts on numbers around here at NBC and elsewhere that come June 7, the day of the California primary…the networks will be prepared, including this one, to announce that Hillary Clinton has now gotten over the top, that she will have won the nomination in numbers, it’s done.”

New York Daily News columnist Shaun King reported on Mathews’ conversation with Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager, mincing no words.

“What followed…is clear evidence that television networks are colluding together to call the primary for Hillary Clinton before she reaches the delegates needed to claim victory. By doing so, they will absolutely suppress the vote in the final states that will be cast ballots in the Democratic primary.”

What the media has done, intentionally misleading the American public to believe Bernie Sanders’ campaign is over, is disgusting. The truth is that Clinton currently has 1,812 pledged delegates, while Bernie Sanders has 1,521. Superdelegate votes are not cast until the Democratic National Convention, which does not convene until July 25. With the tight race between Clinton and Bernie Sanders, it is impossible to name the nominee before the convention. Period.

Here’s Bernie Sanders’ camp’s response to the @AP‘s call that Clinton has hit the delegate count for the nomination: pic.twitter.com/Y7PCKIgv8p — Mic (@mic) June 7, 2016

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]