“BREAKING: Trump Bribed Ukraine To Stop Helping With Russia Probe In Return For Weapons,” an immoderate headline from New Century Times ran on Wednesday. The story was quickly flagged on Facebook for third-party fact checkers to investigate.
The report from New Century Times relies on an article from Newsweek, which in turn is a basic rewrite of original reporting from the New York Times.
As the New York Times reported Wednesday, the Ukrainian chief prosecutor has “effectively frozen” four cases involving Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort:
Several members of Ukraine’s parliament told the New York Times that it would be unwise for Ukraine to engage in, what one called, a “politicized investigation” which could risk U.S. aid.
Readers and pundits alike can speculate till the cows come home, but stating as a news report that “Trump bribed Ukraine to stop helping with Russia probe in return for weapons” is currently inaccurate and unproven.
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