Michael Flynn, fake news, and an opportunity to ask why Christians are often the target audience.
Michael Flynn pled guilty today to lying to the FBI regarding his interactions with the Russian government—and is now cooperating with the investigation. Flynn’s guilty plea is a vindication of those who have objected to the “it’s all fake news” claims.
Mike Flynn just told you this is not fake news.
Now, that does not mean that everything else alleged is true, but it does raise the question again: Why are Christians so often the target audience for fake news?
Let me explain the connection.
Faking News
In a sad twist of irony, even as we have claimed to be the true ‘discerning ones’ of honest media, some Christians have been quick to fall for genuine fake news. I see, over and over, the Twitter feeds of some Christians crying “fake news!” at every story they don’t like.
And it appears that some—Russians no less—who spread fake news have caught on to the willingness of some of those Christians.
For example, last month, the House Intelligence Committee released a sample of ads Russians used to influence the 2016 election. As Christianity Today reported, among the demographics they targeted were American Christians. Accounts such as “Army of Jesus” regularly posted disturbing images blending spiritual themes and the election.
Or, perhaps consider Project Veritas—which exists to “investigate and expose corruption, dishonesty… in both public and private institutions in order to achieve a more ethical and transparent society.” An undercover Veritas employee was exposed attempting to plant a false sexual assault story against Roy Moore in the Washington Post.
The Veritas story is perhaps the most disturbing as they demonstrated a shocking …
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