Despite my best efforts to avoid this topic, today I am getting a bit political. Recently Donald Trump tweeted out the following statement, “How low has President Obama gone to [tap] my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” The issue with this tweet is that not only is it not backed up by any reputable source but is also not within the power of the president. The US president does not have the authority to order a domestic wiretap on a US citizen without casus belli. According to an article in the Bloomberg View, “Only a court can order a domestic wiretap, and that only after a showing of probable cause by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” (Noah Freldman) Also stated by Josh Earnest, Obama’s former White House press secretary “If the FBI decided to use their wiretapping authority in the context of the counterintelligence or criminal investigation, it would require FBI investigators, officials at the Department of Justice going to a federal judge, and making a case, and demonstrating probable cause to use that authority to conduct the investigation.” (Josh Earnest) With all of that said there are only really two options in this scenario that could be true. Either Trump has made another bull faced lie in an attempt to distract people or FBI investigators (not the former president) did tap his phones in which case he was under a series criminal investigation. Neither option would benefit the sitting president.
I bring all this up because it is an excellent example of fake news, the topic of my research for the group project. This is a prime example of how fake news spreads. One of the major ways fake news spreads is when a “reputable” source or one with a large following makes a statement which they may or may not believe to be true based off of unsited or unsourced information. This is exactly what President Trump is doing, spreading false information without sources to a large audience. So thanks Mr. President thanks for contributing to the growing problem of fake news. Feldman, Noah. "Trump's Wiretap Tweets Raise Risk of Impeachment." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 11 Mar. 2017. Schwartz, Ian. "Earnest: The President Can't Unilaterally Order The Wiretapping Of A U.S. Citizen." Video | RealClearPolitics. RealClearPolitics, 6 Mar. 2017. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.
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AuthorIan Kindall a CD major emphasizing in Game Design Archives
May 2017
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