And believe it or not, that headline -- as breathtaking as it is -- might even bury the lede. Fourteen years after the Journolist scandal first exposed progressive narrative journalism as an organized racket, has it re-emerged in a new form? And does it explain the wall-to-wall TRUMP IS HITLER narrative that the mainstream media has amplified for months?

Yesterday, Semafor's Kadia Goba exposed an effort by a Democrat billionaire megadonor's top adviser to get the media to spin the assassination attempt on Donald Trump as faked. Dmitri Mehlhorn apparently has mainstream media journalists in his Rolodex, and feels comfortable directing them how to shape the news.

Oh yes, he's also battier than a belfry:

The top political adviser to Democratic mega-donor Reid Hoffman suggested that the attack on Donald Trump could have been “staged,” even as Hoffman was criticized for joking before Saturday’s attack about Trump becoming a “martyr.” ...

In an email Saturday at 7:34 pm that appeared to be addressed to sympathetic journalists, and which was also sent to Semafor, Mehlhorn wrote that one “possibility -- which feels horrific and alien and absurd in America, but is quite common globally -- is that this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash. This is a classic Russian tactic, such as when Putin killed 300 civilians in 1999 and blamed it on terrorists to ride the backlash to winning power. Others who have embraced this tactic of committing raw evil and then benefitting from the backlash include Hamas on October 7. If any Trump officials encouraged or knew of this attack, that is morally horrific, and Republicans of decency must demand that Trump step down as unfit.”

Worth noting: at 7:34 pm ET on Saturday, we already knew that (a) the shooter had been killed by counter-snipers, (b) eyewitnesses had been interviewed on TV describing the shooter's actions, and most importantly (c) an innocent man had been killed and two other spectators critically wounded. The idea that this could be faked while actual journalists reported and recorded the events live is completely ludicrous. Even with all of that known, Mehlhorn had his narrative plan in place and sent out to "sympathetic journalists."

There's more at the link about Mehlhorn's initial advice, so read it all. It's almost amusing in its lunacy, especially after the clear conspiracy to cover up Joe Biden's cognitive decline over the last couple of years among Democrats and journalists. To their credit, Semafor apparently didn't appreciate the editorial direction. Rather than take Mehlhorn's advice, they published it directly, exposing the Mehlhorn/Hoffman narrative project. Once that happened, Mehlhorn quickly backtracked and claimed that he'd acted without Hoffman's knowledge.

And just consider that for a moment. The man who concocted a ridiculous conspiracy theory about an assassination attempt seen on live TV and in person by thousands of rally-goers wants us to dismiss any idea that this narrative direction involved more than one person. 

Goba notes that Mehlhorn's effort may have worked anyway, before it got exposed:

“Staged” was trending last night on X, indicating the baseless conspiracy is becoming widespread. I’ve heard some of the same rhetoric in social circles. In fact, as I write this, I’m at a Washington, DC nail salon, and the man next to me getting a pedicure (who I do not know) just asked, “So you think yesterday was fake, huh?”

We’re used to conspiracy theories festering in the bowels of the internet behind animated profile pictures, and to hearing crazy theories in random conversations. But these views also spread widely in elite circles, like the big money Silicon Valley wing of the Democratic Party that Mehlhorn represents. Educated Democrats like to sneer at the “disinformation” spread on the American right, but the same patterns of thinking seem to affect all parts of American politics.

Indeed, and this is excellent work on Goba's part. But it still misses one key question, which is who these "sympathetic journalists" are and why they didn't report on Mehlhorn's insane attempt to warp coverage of an assassination attempt. Or isn't "Billionaire Donor Pushes Conspiracy Theory on Assassination" an interesting enough headline for these reporters?

And that raises another question: Why did Mehlhorn feel comfortable offering up a massive conspiracy theory less than two hours after the assassination attempt to shift blame onto Trump? This system must have succeeded with other narrative-planting exercises before Mehlhorn tried to push this one through his own Journolist  What other narratives has Mehlhorn and Hoffman managed to insert into "news" coverage via this group of "sympathetic journalists"? 

Maybe someone will publish the names and the e-mails so that we can get some transparency on these questions. That's what put an end to the original Journolist ... to the extent it ended at all, anyway. 

Addendum: Now readers can get a glimpse of what independent platforms like ours are up against in the media's public square. The Protection Racket Media takes its orders from activists and their allies in the swamp and Big Tech protect them against competition by censoring or deplatforming dissent. 

Join us in the fight. We are running a 60% off special during the RNC. Use code MAGA24 to get this unprecedented deal!

Addendum II: I wonder if Elizabeth Dwoskin and Faiz Siddiqui are on Mehlhorn's Journolist. This WaPo complaint about billionaire narrative-setting seems almost like projection in light of Goba's reporting:

I KNOW A HERO WHEN I SEE ONE

The Washington Post names me along with @elonmusk as one of several businessmen who are using their “megaphones” to spread “narratives” about the assassination attempt on President Trump.

I’m not sure what “narratives” they’re referring to, but I… pic.twitter.com/GYVunWZPrG

— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) July 15, 2024