MSNBC has remained silent on Joy Reid’s discredited claims that hackers posted anti-gay remarks on her old blog.
The liberal host of MSNBC’s “AM Joy” claimed in April to have evidence that anonymous hackers fabricated anti-gay posts on her old blog, The Reid Report. After media investigations cast serious doubt on Reid’s claims, the host admitted that she didn’t have any such evidence after all.
A series of posts on the now-defunct blog from between 2005 and 2007 show Reid identifying political figures she thought were secretly gay, launching anti-gay attacks on her political opponents and describing herself as “probably” homophobic.
Reid claimed on April 23 that hackers had targeted her with a sophisticated smear campaign, citing “a cyber-security expert who first identified the unauthorized activity.” (RELATED: Joy Reid’s Hacking Story Filled With Holes)
“Now that the site has been compromised I can state unequivocally that it does not represent the original entries,” Reid said. “I hope that whoever corrupted the site recognizes the pain they have caused, not just to me, but to my family and communities that I care deeply about: LGBTQ, immigrants, people of color and other marginalized groups.”
On April 24, under media pressure to provide proof of Reid’s claim, MSNBC released two letters from Reid’s attorney and a statement from her consultant. Both her attorney and her consultant claimed to have evidence that Reid’s site had been hacked, but their claims fell apart under scrutiny.
On April 25, MSNBC said it would wait for the results of a law enforcement investigation into the alleged hack of Reid’s server before addressing the matter. Reid’s attorney first announced the reported investigation. The network has yet to provide any updates on the reported investigation. (RELATED: Joy Reid Keeps Changing Her Story About Her Anti-Gay Blog Posts [VIDEO])
Archived versions of Reid’s blog disprove her claim that “fraudulent” posts were added after the fact, a DCNF investigation found. Investigations by other media outlets reached similar conclusions.
Reid admitted on April 28 that she lacked the evidence of hacking she once claimed to possess. And more of her fringe blog posts have continued to become public.
Still, MSNBC has managed to avoid publicly addressing the possibility that a prominent host fed the public false information about her history of making bigoted comments and wasted law enforcement resources while doing so.
MSNBC did not return TheDCNF’s inquiries into the status of the reported law enforcement investigation and whether the network is now willing to take a position on Reid’s hacking claims.
Reporters at other outlets have similarly found MSNBC to be unresponsive.
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