To Recap: An unnamed source, says an unnamed utility was hacked, and provides zero evidence. Are we actually supposed to believe this stuff?



Of course, as we learned the next day, it was untrue – it was just agenda-driven propaganda, being pushed by the lying legacy media, once again — DHS: No Evidence Hackers Infected Vermont Power Grid. Here’s what WaPo said happened:

The Washington Post published the “Russians hacked the Vermont grid” story “before being able to get comment from the two utility companies in Vermont.” The Burlington Electric Department released a statement showing the premise of The Washington Post story untrue. (Source)

Astounding! WaPo published a serious accusation of Russians hacking Vermont’s power grid without even first checking with the two utilities in Vermont. Such a lack of basic journalism ethics is nothing more than rumor mongering or pushing agenda-driven propaganda.

Then, WaPo issued a “correction” to their story – but burried it where few people would see it, just after the end of their article they wrote: “An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid. Authorities say there is no indication of that so far. The computer at Burlington Electric that was hacked was not attached to the grid.” See also:

It is instructive to take a look at snippets [with annotations] from the original Washington Post article:

A code [allegedly]associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe [which may or may have just been made up]by the Obama administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont utility, according to [unnamed] U.S. officials [and we use the term “officials” VERY loosely~!] While the Russians[wink wink!] did not actively use the code to disrupt operations, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity[how else can fictional characters speak?] to discuss a security matter, the discovery underlines the[alleged]vulnerabilities of the nation’s electrical grid. Officials in government and the utility industry[none of whom have names] regularly monitor the grid because it is highly computerized and any disruptions can have disastrous implications for the country’s medical and emergency services.[scare the old people] American officials, [who have no names]including one senior administration official, [who has FEWER than no names]said they are not yet sure what the intentions of the Russians might have been.[nor are they sure whether Sara Palin can “see Russia from her house] The [alleged] incursion may have been designed to disrupt the utility’s operations or as a test to see whether they could penetrate a portion of the grid.

[Is this a TEST to see whether we are ST00PID enough to believe the shit the Washington Post writes?]

This week, officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence[none of which have names]shared the Grizzly Steppe malware code with executives from 16 sectors nationwide,[Oh great, now ANYONE can use it, and “unnamed officials will STILL blame the Russians!!!] including the financial, utility and transportation industries, a senior administration official [who has no name] said. Vermont utility officials identified the code within their operations and reported it to federal officials Friday, the official [who has no name] said. The DHS and FBI also publicly posted information about the malware Thursday as part of a joint analysis report,[the DHS and FBI put the ANAL in analysis] saying that the Russian military and civilian services’ activity “is part of an ongoing campaign of cyber-enabled operations directed at the U.S. government and its citizens.”

[. . . and they bother didn’t mention that Russian Grandmas intentionally post FAKE knitting and crocheting videos with FAULTY INSTRUCTION on YouTube – just to drive American Grandmas CRAZY!!!]

Another senior administration official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity[unlike everyone else, who insisted on not being named?] to discuss security matters, said in an email that “by exposing Russian malware” in the joint analysis report, “the administration sought to alert all network defenders in the United States and abroad to this malicious activity to better secure their networks and defend against Russian malicious cyber activity.”

Then, two days later:

Washington Post retracts story about Russian hack at Vermont utility

Enough already!

This is the 2nd time in the last month that WaPo has published unverified rumors about Russia, as front-page news–and “corrected” it later.

In early Dec 2016, the Washington Post “appended” its story accusing ‘Russia of spreading fake news’, saying it “cannot vouch for the research of its independent ‘experts.’” – Source: Washington Post appends story accusing Russia

Hmmmmmm . . . They “cannot vouch for the research,” but they ran the story anyway?? Apparently, The Washington Post now publishes unverified rumors as “news”. Any wonder why WaPo is having “trust” problems?

[Here’s a long, detailed account of WaPo’s story: Russia Threat, Public Deceived.]

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Bottom Line: Americans no longer trust the lying legacy media.

The Washington Post’s latest folly – falsely reporting a Russian “hack” into Vermont’s electric grid – reflects the paper’s steep decline from the days of Watergate, reports.