A fake report trending on social media claims that the Huffington Post is reporting that Hillary and Bill Clinton "will be the targets of racketeering charges soon to be brought by the FBI." This is a variation on the typical hoax stories, in that an entry was posted on the HuffPo's "contributor platform" for a short time before disappearing.
"Contributors control their own work and post freely to our site," according to the Huffington Post. In other words, it was a "contributor" who posted a story without sourcing. But before editors were alerted and removed it, it was shared among conservative Twitter accounts and reinterpreted as a legitimate story.
A "404" page that loads when you click the original story link features a sad-faced emoji and the test "This is so embarrassing."
The original story, headlined "Hillary Clinton to be Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charges" can be viewed at archive.is.
It said:
"The Clinton Foundation is an ongoing criminal enterprise engaged in money laundering and soliciting bribes in exchange for political, policy and legislative favors to individuals, corporations and even governments both foreign and domestic."
And:
"James Comey and The FBI will present a recommendation to Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the Department of Justice, that includes a cogent argument that the Clinton Foundation is an ongoing criminal enterprise engaged in money laundering and soliciting bribes in exchange for political, policy and legislative favors to individuals, corporations and even governments both foreign and domestic."
The author of the retracted report was HuffPo freelance contributor Frank Huguenard, a scientist and public speaker, according to Breitbart.
