A Conspiracy Theory About The Clintons Murdering People Has Gone Viral In China
In a world devoid of debunkers and fact-checkers, conspiracy theories — like the one saying a DNC staffer was murdered for leaking emails — can go big in China.
WikiLeaks and Russian state media have heavily pushed a conspiracy theory about the Clintons' role in the death of a DNC employee, one that a Chinese government account not only has bought into but embellished further.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange last week suggested the possibility that Seth Rich, a DNC staffer working on voter outreach who was shot and killed in DC weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention, was an informant for WikiLeaks. Conspiracy sites suggested Rich was involved in the leak of DNC emails and files, although US intelligence officials linked the leak to a likely Russian hack. (Rich's parents have called upon the press to stop politicizing their son's death, according to Business Insider.)
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The Communist Youth League, the Chinese Communist Party's youth wing, told its 4 million followers on Weibo Saturday, "The sources of the Hillary leaked emails were murdered, one after another? This is the truth of Western democracy!"
The post didn't provide details about how the league supposedly confirmed that Rich's death was politically motivated. Instead, it claimed that businesses and other capitalists control the media and politics in Western countries, using as proof an article first published by the Liaowang Institution, a think tank affiliated with the country's state-run Xinhua News.
Among the more than 3,000 comments the post received, most people bought the theory completely.
"The killing has started before [Clinton] becomes president, what will happen afterwards? Horrifying," commented one user.
Some expressed relief that they live in a safer society.
"Horrible, it's so great to live in China," another commented.