Post by @RepublicanGold
77% credible (87% factual, 58% presentation). The infographic accurately reports some procedural issues like FISA abuses, confirmed by the Durham report, but promotes a largely debunked conspiracy theory of widespread political surveillance. The presentation suffers from causal framing violations and omission of key findings that contradict the narrative.
Analysis Summary
The post shares a 2018-2019 Epoch Times infographic alleging a vast conspiracy ('Spygate') involving Obama administration officials spying on the Trump campaign through FBI and DOJ actions. The infographic promotes a partisan narrative of political surveillance that has been largely debunked as a conspiracy theory, though some elements like FISA abuses were confirmed in later investigations. It credits Epoch Times for early reporting, reflecting conservative media's emphasis on anti-Trump bias claims.
Original Content
The Facts
The content advances a selective, partisan interpretation of the Trump-Russia investigation events, mixing verified procedural issues (e.g., FISA warrant problems) with unsubstantiated conspiracy claims about widespread spying orchestrated by Democrats. Overall verdict: Mostly false as a cohesive narrative, though partially supported by official findings like the Durham report. Author credibility (65% historical truthfulness, strong pro-Republican bias) updates priors downward for objective accuracy on politically charged topics.
Benefit of the Doubt
The author advances a pro-Trump, anti-Democrat agenda by endorsing the 'Spygate' theory to portray the 2016 election interference as a deep-state plot against conservatives, emphasizing connections between Clinton, Obama, FBI, and media while crediting aligned sources like Epoch Times. Key omission: Ignores counter-evidence from Mueller and Durham reports that found no broad conspiracy, only isolated errors and biases, and downplays Russia's confirmed election meddling. This selective framing shapes perception by reinforcing distrust in institutions without balanced context, appealing to audiences skeptical of mainstream narratives.
Visual Content Analysis
Images included in the original content
VISUAL DESCRIPTION
A large, detailed infographic in the style of a conspiracy map, featuring photos of political figures (e.g., Obama, Clinton, Comey, Trump) connected by lines and arrows to institutions like FBI, DOJ, State Department, Congress, media outlets, and the White House. It uses red, blue, and black colors with labels like 'Spygate' at the top, depicting a web of alleged surveillance and investigation ties from the 2016 election period.
TEXT IN IMAGE
SPYGATE | How Obama Administration Spied on the Trump Campaign | FBI | DOJ | STATE | CONGRESS | MEDIA | WHITE HOUSE | Key players in surveillance and investigation of Trump associates | Includes names and photos: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Brennan, James Clapper, Loretta Lynch, Sally Yates, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS, Perkins Coie, Stefan Halper, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, Alexander Downer, DOJ, FBI, State Dept, Congress members like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, media outlets like CNN, NYT, BuzzFeed, WaPo, MSNBC, and Trump with 'Surveillance' label. Various connections via lines indicating alleged links in the dossier, investigations, and surveillance.
MANIPULATION
No signs of digital editing, artifacts, or inconsistencies; appears to be an authentic published graphic from The Epoch Times, consistent with their 2018-2019 style of infographics on political topics.
TEMPORAL ACCURACY
The infographic references events from the 2016 election and early Trump administration (e.g., FISA warrants in 2016-2017), first posted in 2018 and updated in 2019; it does not reflect post-2020 developments like the Durham report's limited findings.
LOCATION ACCURACY
The image is a conceptual diagram without specific geographical locations; it focuses on U.S. political entities and individuals, matching the claimed U.S.-centric political context without spatial claims to verify.
FACT-CHECK
The infographic accurately depicts some verified connections (e.g., Steele dossier origins via Fusion GPS and Perkins Coie for Clinton campaign), but overstates them into an unproven grand conspiracy; fact-checks (e.g., from Media Bias/Fact Check and Wikipedia on Epoch Times) label 'Spygate' as a promoted conspiracy theory, with Durham's 2023 report confirming FISA abuses but no orchestrated spying plot.
How Is This Framed?
Biases, omissions, and misleading presentation techniques detected
Presents a 2018-2019 infographic as relevant current insight by crediting it without noting its age, implying ongoing or newly validated relevance.
Problematic phrases:
"This was first posted in 2018 and updated in 2019. Credit to the @EpochTimes for nailing it from the beginning."What's actually there:
Outdated partisan graphic from 2018-2019
What's implied:
Timely validation of conspiracy claims
Impact: Creates false sense of enduring truth and prescience, misleading readers into viewing old debunked elements as freshly confirmed.
Implies direct causation between Obama administration actions and illegal spying on Trump without evidence, using connective phrasing to suggest orchestration.
Problematic phrases:
"Spygate involving Obama administration officials spying on the Trump campaign through FBI and DOJ actions"What's actually there:
Isolated procedural errors in FISA warrants per Durham report
What's implied:
Coordinated political conspiracy
Impact: Leads readers to infer intentional sabotage rather than investigative missteps, inflating perception of partisan persecution.
Omits key findings from Mueller and Durham reports that debunk broad conspiracy, focusing only on supportive elements like FISA abuses.
Problematic phrases:
"Credit to the @EpochTimes for nailing it from the beginning"What's actually there:
No evidence of orchestrated spying; confirmed Russian meddling and isolated biases
What's implied:
Unchallenged deep-state plot
Impact: Distorts understanding by withholding context that shows narrative as mostly false, reinforcing echo chamber beliefs.
Presents multi-faceted Russia investigation as purely anti-Trump spying, ignoring Democratic vulnerabilities and Russian interference.
Problematic phrases:
"Vast conspiracy ('Spygate') involving Obama administration officials"What's actually there:
Balanced probes into both sides; no vast Democrat-led spy ring
What's implied:
Exclusive Democrat/Deep State guilt
Impact: Polarizes perception, fostering distrust in institutions and appealing to partisan audiences without nuance.
Sources & References
External sources consulted for this analysis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times
https://www.allsides.com/news-source/epoch-times-media-bias
https://www.npr.org/2020/05/26/862797418/twitter-points-users-to-fact-checks-of-trump-tweets-for-the-first-time
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-epoch-times/
https://www.facingsouth.org/2022/09/epoch-times-disinformation-mailed-to-voters
https://arxiv.org/html/2406.12444v1
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aau2706
https://archive.ph/H2OmW
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/twitter-fact-checks-bidens-claim-that-companies-paid-no-taxes-4830888
https://adfontesmedia.com/epoch-times-bias-and-reliability/
https://capitalresearch.org/article/nbc-news-fails-crc-fact-check-the-epoch-times-is-no-pro-trump-dark-money-operation/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/49217948876
https://reuters.com/article/us-twitter-factcheck-idUSKBN2360U0
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/verify-unsolicited-paper-spreads-outlandish-covid-claims/103-9290495e-a501-44fa-b7df-0bb0e385328b
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/959532475352584192
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/954402800846491648
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1077373299355779073
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1068705086396932096
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1067811926728687621
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1331970202775511040
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/technology/how-spygate-attacks-fizzled.html
https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/far-right-newspaper-promotes-climate-disinformation-on-meta/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spygate_(conspiracy_theory)
https://truth4freedom.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/spygate-the-true-story-of-collusion-infographic-the-epoch-times/
https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/10/what-is-the-epoch-times-a-vehicle-for-pro-trump-conspiracy-theories-and-the-culmination-of-all-that-facebook-has-encouraged/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html
https://www.patreon.com/posts/epoch-spygatte-134567611
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-spygate-scandal-what-we-learned-in-2018_2749912.html
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-epoch-times/
https://www.theepochtimes.com/year-in-review-20-notable-spygate-developments-of-2019-2_3182262.html
http://uniteordie-usa.com/the-epoch-times-gives-a-full-video-article-and-infographic-rundown-on-spygate-russiagate/
https://truth4freedom.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/spygate-the-true-story-of-collusion-infographic-the-epoch-times/
https://www.theepochtimes.com/spygate-the-inside-story-behind-the-alleged-plot-to-take-down-trump_2833074.html
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1050803589650817026
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1067811926728687621
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/974313029897805825
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1111289448715685888
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1078386719194603531
https://x.com/EpochTimes/status/1116056119292592130
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