The Nation is reviewing a story casting doubt on Russian hack of DNC

[geek tragedy]

The Nation's willingness to be a front for Russian state disinformation is finally becoming untenable.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/08/15/the-nation-is-reviewing-a-story-casting-doubt-on-russian-hack-of-dnc/?utm_term=.d70666010bfb

Katrina vanden Heuvel, the Nation’s editor and publisher (and the writer of a weekly online column for The Post), tells the Erik Wemple Blog that Lawrence’s piece is undergoing a post-publication editorial review. “We’re doing the review as we speak, and I don’t want to rush to say anything,” said vanden Heuvel. Part of that review is an assessment of the technical feasibility of the points in Lawrence’s article.

...

Maybe the Nation should have done the technical patdown prior to publication. “Most households don’t get internet speeds that high, but enterprise operations, like the DNC — or, uh, the [Russian] FSB — would have access to a higher but certainly not unattainable speed like that,” wrote Brian Feldman in a debunking in New York Magazine.

...

A complicating consideration: Lawrence tweeted last week in support of the conspirator’s notion that Seth Rich — a former DNC staffer who was murdered in what police believe was a botched robbery attempt — may have been behind the leak

...

The editorial review of Lawrence’s article should conclude by week’s end, said vanden Heuvel.

Dissension over the Lawrence story comes at a time of heated debate within the Nation over its coverage of allegations that the 2016 Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia. A January report from the U.S. intelligence community found that Russia had indeed mounted a campaign to influence the election, and numerous investigations — under the purview of the Justice Department and Congress — are now probing whether Trump associates worked with the regime of Vladimir Putin. Through it all, the Nation has published columns taking a skeptical view of the connection. The magazine is “out of sync” with liberals on this matter, said vanden Heuvel, as well as its view that it’s perilous to escalate tensions with Russia. “I’ve seen the danger for progressives when Cold War comes,” she said.

Perhaps they shouldn't publish pieces by pro-Putin stooges? Though that would mean barring vanden Heuvel's husband ...

[Bradshaw3]

1. I'm not holding my breath for an honest review

I have become completely disgusted by the Nation, vandenHeuvel, Lawrence and Cohen. It was an awful, unhinged conspiracy piece with dubious science from even more dubious sources. She is good at sounding reasonable while deflecting from the real issue. I think things will only change there when she is gone.

[geek tragedy]

2. has anyone audited their books for Russian cash? nt

[dalton99a]

3. +1

[Codeine]

4. I've been a Nation subscriber for nearly 30 years

and these days I rarely read more than the book reviews before tossing an issue, while in prior times I read them cover-to-cover and kept all my back issues. They need to get back on the rails and out of the pocket of Russian state actors.