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Hackers publish fake news story about Saudi Arabian prince funding Hillary Clinton

The hacked report spread around blogs and social media at a steady pace and often unchallenged.

 

Patrick Howell O'Neill

Tech

Posted on Jun 14, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 3:00 pm CDT

Hackers attacking Jordan’s government-owned news agency took aim at Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, publishing a false report about illegal foreign campaign funding.

Petra, the Jordanian agency, suffered a “technical failure” on its website the night of June 12, according to an official statement. That failure was an”attempt to hack the agency’s transmission system and its website.”

In that time, a false report was published claiming that Saudi Arabian royalty funded 20 percent of Clinton’s presidential campaign totalling  $42.4 million. That was re-reported elsewhere almost instantly. The report was pulled down without much immediate explanation, adding another “mysterious” twist to the story for some. You can read the full report here.

“Saudi Arabia always has sponsored both Republican and Democratic Party of America and in America current election also provide with full enthusiasm 20 percent of the cost of Hillary Clinton’s election even though some events in the country don’t have a positive look to support the king of a woman [sic] for presidency,” the false report quoted Prince Mohammed as saying.

It’s illegal for foreign countries to donate to American political campaigns.

The report is gaining traction in part because Saudi Arabia donated between $10 million and $25 million to the Clinton Foundation charity. In 2011, Clinton oversaw arms deals with Saudi Arabia worth tens of billions of dollars.

Since its brief time on Petra, the hacked report spread around blogs and social media at a steady pace and, when it pops up, without much challenge.

https://twitter.com/fast98dodge/status/742448922195431425

Zero Hedge

“The Agency was surprised to see some media outlets as well as the social media publishing false news that were attributed to Petra,” the statement read. “They said that Petra transmitted a news item related to the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia and later deleted this news item. This is totally false and untrue.”

Prince Mohammed is now in the United States discussing American-Saudi relations.

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*First Published: Jun 14, 2016, 10:09 am CDT