Meet the Journalist Spreading Michael Hastings Conspiracy Theories

[struggle4progress]

"Whether it turns out to be true or not, that's a whole other issue," says Kim Dvorak.
—By Gavin Aronsen
Fri Aug. 16, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

... freelance blogger Kimberly Dvorak ... is a "National Homeland Security Correspondent" for Examiner.com, a blog network owned by Republican billionaire Philip Anschutz that has minimal editorial oversight ...

Last month, for example, the Independent, a major British newspaper, picked up Dvorak's report claiming that Hastings' body "was cremated and it wasn't the request of the family…in fact, the family wanted Michael's body to go home." But on Tuesday, veteran journalist Russ Baker dispelled the myth on his news site WhoWhatWhy by talking to a family member who confirmed that the cremation was done at the family's request. Dvorak .. still hints at a cover-up, calling the cremation a "macabre twist."

Dvorak's other theories are just as questionable. She claimed on air that the engine of Hastings' Mercedes C250 coupe had been found behind the crash site, which would have been impossible with the forward velocity of an ordinary accident. The engine was found in front of the crash site. Her suggestion that a grainy video of the crash showed evidence of a "pre-explosion" sabotage has been dismissed by car experts ... She's written credulously about the theory that President Barack Obama may not have been born in the United States ...

Dvorak ... says she's enlisted the help of Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog group funded by billionaire media mogul Richard Mellon Scaife ...

... She ... says she remains suspicious that Hastings may have "faked his death" or been assassinated. "Whether it turns out to be true or not, that's a whole other issue," she adds ...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/08/michael-hastings-conspiracy-theories-kim-dvorak

[proverbialwisdom]

1. Have you read Russ Baker?

http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/08/13/exclusive-hastings-unauthorized-cremation-mega-rumor-false-family-says/

Exclusive— Hastings ‘Unauthorized Cremation’ Mega-Rumor False, Family Says
By Russ Baker on Aug 13, 2013

<>

It’s not at all clear Dvorak deserves the title of “journalist.” Her twitter page identifies her not as a television reporter but as “Examiner National Homeland Security Correspondent”—a reference to the Examiner network of conservative-oriented websites. Most of her work has been essays with an editorial tone for conservative or right-wing sites, marked by a clear animus toward the Obama administration, and by alarmist content about “illegal aliens” and other perceived threats.

The larger lesson here is one about the state of news today. The media/online world seems increasingly divided between those who are too quick to accept official claims—and those whose default posture is that everything is a plot to cover up the truth. It’s hard to find real journalists—whose work can be trusted because they approach a story with an open mind, a commitment to digging out the facts, and a willingness to report whatever they find.

There are enough truly troubling things about the Michael Hastings story not to have legitimate inquiries sidetracked by a red herring. As Matt Farwell pointed out, instead of advancing a real investigation, such shoddy “reporting” has the exact opposite effect.

http://whowhatwhy.com/the-project/

The Project

My name is Russ Baker. For more than two decades I have been an investigative journalist, doing what I believed journalists were supposed to do—seek the truth and publish nothing less. Over the years, however, I have learned how the media gatekeepers, both “mainstream” and “alternative,” will not allow the biggest, most disturbing revelations to see the light of day.

I started WhoWhatWhy because I was tired of the cynicism, self-interest, and cowardice that I witnessed in the news media. I started WhoWhatWhy to show how good—and how consequential—journalism can be when the only mandate is to dig relentlessly, and reveal, without exception, what we uncover.

Who We Are

WhoWhatWhy embodies a form of investigative reporting that is rigorous, relentless and scientific – we call it forensic journalism.

Forensic journalism requires skepticism towards power and credentialed expertise; a determination to unearth the facts interested parties want to keep hidden; and an unflinching commitment to follow the trail wherever it leads. We are truth seeking-not quote seeking.

We take on controversial topics others will not touch and dig deep to uncover and name the institutions and persons shaping our world. Our organization is neither partisan nor ideological and only provides accounts based on extensive research and thorough sourcing.

In addition to producing rigorous investigative reporting, we seek to further the long-term survival and betterment of the news industry as a whole.

We pair senior reporters who have decades of experience with dedicated young journalists new to the field. We facilitate the transfer of values, methods and culture as our talented and varied investigators shape an improved and adaptive form of journalism to fit our times.

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Board of Directors and Their Affiliations

Russ Baker

• Award-winning investigative reporter

• Contributor: The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Village Voice and Esquire and dozens of other major domestic and foreign publications

•Contributing editor: Columbia Journalism Review

•Deadline Club Awardee

•Author: Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America (Bloomsbury Press, 2009); in paperback as Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, America’s Invisible Government and the Secret History of the Last Fifty Years

<>

MORE: http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/08/07/connections-between-michael-hastings-edward-snowden-and-barrett-brown-the-war-with-the-security-state/

[MrMickeysMom]

2. Apparently, comments on Mother Jone's don't buy this story well...

And, how can you blame people reading Mother Jones for not agreeing with the assessment of Dvorak?

People are not that stupid.

The LAPD isn't known for being honest and forthright, I've noticed. I also noticed a few weeks back a video that was raw of this accident clearly showed the intact Mercedes engine. I dare say it was left behind the crash and burned vehicle.

[geek tragedy]

3. Because they're fucking morons, as is anyone who believes a rightwing birther like Dvorak

is credible.

[burnodo]

5. They're "fucking morons"

Are all your assessments so fact-based?

[geek tragedy]

6. Show me one person who thinks birthers are reliable sources who isn't a dumbass. nt

[FSogol]

4. Glad people are realizing that Dvorak is a right wing flake. n/t