The federal government notified Wisconsin officials that Russian hackers had tried to “hack 2016 election results,” NBC News tweeted Friday.
Except that is not true. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified state officials that hackers tried to penetrate Wisconsin’s voter registration system, not voting machines or election results.
JUST IN: “Russian government cyber actors” unsuccessfully attempted to hack 2016 election results in Wisconsin, DHS tells state officials pic.twitter.com/PMd6Gj5z4b
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) September 22, 2017
NBC was quickly called out by ProPublica’s Jessica Huseman, who called the news “false.”
This is false. It says nothing – Nothing – about “election results.” Registration systems are disconnected from the results. https://t.co/vcWCXUipm9
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) September 22, 2017
I’m not going to hold my breath on @NBCPolitics writing a correction here – though they absolutely should.
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) September 22, 2017
This is a flatly irresponsible tweet & it is stunning that an organization that reports about elections does not know how these systems work
— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) September 22, 2017
Wisconsin officials were clear the hacking attempt had no impact on election results.
President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in the 2016 election in a surprise victory against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton largely blamed Russian influence and “fake news” for her loss.
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