Western media outlets were showered with praise and accolades after accusing the Kremlin of poisoning a Russian businessman in 2012. But a UK inquest into his death has now taken the wind out of their Russia hysteria sails.

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An inquest into the death of Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichny found that he “likely” died of natural causes – contradicting years of sensational reporting pointing to a Kremlin murder plot, some of which was even nominated for a Pulitzer prize.

Perepilichny, who collapsed near his home in Surrey, England in November 2012, had played a prominent role in aiding an investigation into the high profile Magnitsky case. After his death, he became the subject of a number of creatively-sourced articles.

Leading the way was BuzzFeed, which in June 2017 published a seven-part investigation that relied heavily upon the musings of a nameless “senior US intelligence official.” The airtight source told the site that Perepilichny had been “assassinated on direct orders from Putin or people close to him” – an accusation that was dutifully relayed to BuzzFeed’s readers.

Months earlier, The Atlantic magazine ran a similar take on the case. While admitting that it may be “impossible to prove he was murdered,” the magazine nonetheless argued that the Russian had fallen prey to Kremlin assassins.

Several other outlets, including the Independent, the New Yorker, and even Reuters, joined the speculation circus in hopes of reaping the rewards of Russia hysteria.

Buzzfeed won a load of journalism awards for a series that said Alexander Perepilichnyy was assassinated by Russia based on anon intel sources. When it comes to blaming Russia, there are no standards, most of the award-winning journalism is David Icke level conspiracy or MI6 PR. https://t.co/e6zEtoVrPJ — Matt Kennard (@KennardMatt) December 19, 2018

BuzzFeed, for example, was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer prize for international reporting. The outlet had been nominated for its probing investigations which “proved” that Kremlin-linked killers were rampaging across Europe and the United States.

To its credit, BuzzFeed reported on the inquest’s deflating findings – making sure to point out that while nothing was found that “points specifically toward poisoning,” the judge also said that, “equally, there is nothing specific that points away from poison.”

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