Here are nine instances in which media outlets pushed misinformation about Kavanaugh.
1. “Devil’s Triangle”
Multiple media outlets accused Kavanaugh of lying about the term “devil’s triangle” in his high school yearbook, which Democrats claimed was a reference to a group sex act. When asked by Democratic Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, Kavanaugh said that “devil’s triangle” was a drinking game played with quarters and three cups. The Huffington Post called Kavanaugh’s explanation a “lie.” Seven witnesses — including the classmate credited in the yearbook for inventing the game — have corroborated Kavanaugh’s account of “devil’s triangle.” Politico on Thursday published a video that cited the website Urban Dictionary to suggest Kavanaugh was lying. Politico later deleted the video and issued an apology for its “outdated information.”
2. Media outlets claim Kavanaugh described birth control as “abortion-inducing drugs”
Multiple media outlets claimed Kavanaugh described some forms of birth control as “abortion-inducing drugs.” HuffPost’s article, “Brett Kavanaugh Refers To Birth Control As ‘Abortion-Inducing Drugs’ At Confirmation Hearing,” has been shared 110,000 times. The Cut (a New York Magazine website) titled its article: “Brett Kavanaugh Calls Birth Control ‘Abortion Inducing Drugs.'” In fact, Kavanaugh was citing the defendant’s description while explaining his dissent in the case, which went against the plaintiff. PolitiFact rated “false” Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris’s claim echoing the misleading reporting.
3. New Yorker’s first-hand source knocks down its second-hand source on second accuser
The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow have faced criticism over their sourcing in reporting on the second allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. Deborah Ramirez accused him of drunkenly displaying his penis in her face at a party. Neither she nor the New Yorker included any other attendee at the party who could corroborate her story. The New York Times later reported that Ramirez herself had told classmates she wasn’t sure if Kavanaugh was the one who had exposed himself. The only corroborating witness in the story was a former Yale classmate who told the New Yorker that he remembered hearing about Kavanaugh’s exposure from a party attendee. The classmate, who remained anonymous in that story, said he was “100 percent sure” that he had been told of Kavanaugh exposing himself to Ramirez, he told the New Yorker. Mayer repeatedly touted the unnamed source — later revealed to be current Princeton Theological Seminary professor Kenneth Appold — in defending the story’s accuracy. When the New Yorker got in contact with the attendee Appold said told him about the incident, that person had no recollection of the event ever occurring. “No one made Farrow hitch his wagon to these deeply embarrassing and wildly irresponsible Kavanaugh hit jobs,” the Washington Examiner’s Becket Adams wrote in a column. “No one forced Farrow to treat Appold as a serious and credible source. This is all of Farrow’s own choosing.”
4. NYMag spreads Avenatti’s gang rape claim, not it falling apart
New York Magazine spread Michael Avenatti’s claim to have “significant evidence” that Kavanaugh was involved in drugging and gang-raping girls during high school. The magazine published a series of articles on the topic including, “New Accuser Says Kavanaugh Was Present When She Was Gang-Raped in High School,” “Michael Avenatti Implicates Kavanaugh in Pattern of Teenage Sexual Assault” and “Julie Swetnick’s Allegations Likely to Finish Off Brett Kavanaugh.” Avenatti has yet to produce any evidence, and Democrats have distanced themselves from Avenatti’s claim. Avenatti’s client, Julie Swetnick, contradicted her sworn statement in...
