Politics

Dirty tricks: Fake CNN news alert slanders surging Gingrich in SC

David Martosko Executive Editor
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Looks like someone has played a dirty campaign trick on Newt Gingrich.

A fake breaking news alert claiming the former House Speaker pressured his ex-wife Marianne Gingrich to have an abortion was sent to Republican activists in South Carolina early Thursday morning, CNN reports. The bogus alert came from an email account made to look like an official CNN account but is not actually affiliated with the news network.

“A source close to Marianne Gingrich tells CNN that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich forced her to abort a pregnancy conceived during the affair that preceeded (sic) her marriage to Gingrich,” the email reads. While CNN is not sure how many people received the false report, they do know it showed up in the inboxes of at least two members of the South Carolina GOP’s Executive Committee.

Surging in the polls, Gingrich is now the front-runner in the Palmetto State after disappointing finishes in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. The former Mrs. Gingrich gave an interview to ABC News this week claiming her ex-husband had asked her to enter into an “open marriage” – a charge he strenuously denies – but has not made any allegations similar to the one emailed out by the fake CNN account.

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