Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
Old misinformation about Democratic party staffer Seth Rich gains new traction online
If Your Time is short
- This supposed "breaking news" video was published on YouTube in 2018, and includes misinformation about Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer who was slain in 2016. He wasn’t the source of Democratic Party emails provided to WikiLeaks.
A "breaking news" label generally connotes something happening at that moment — not an event from five years ago.
But a recent Facebook post mischaracterizes an old web video just so.
"BREAKING DEAD DNC Leaker Has Just Been Identified – Trump Was RIGHT!" the June 16 post says.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The video in the post was published March 2018 on YouTube, and the revelation of a supposed "DNC leaker’s" identity predates even that. The video’s host discusses the death of Seth Rich, a Democratic party worker who was shot and killed near his home in Washington not long before the first WikiLeaks dump of Democratic emails in July 2016.
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
The proximity of that dump and Rich’s death spurred rumors that Rich was the true source of Democratic National Committee files that WikiLeaks shared that year. At one point, Fox News aired and then retracted a report saying the FBI had proof Rich was WikiLeaks’ source.
Featured Fact-check
PolitiFact has dug into and debunked multiple claims that Rich was murdered because he gave former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails to WikiLeaks. And as we’ve previously reported, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report in 2019 made clear that Rich wasn’t the source. Rather, the report concluded that Russia hacked the Democratic party’s servers and passed that material to WikiLeaks.
The case of Rich, who was shot in the back and killed, is unsolved, but police have said they believe he died in an attempted robbery.
We rate claims that Rich’s identity is now breaking news False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 16, 2023
YouTube post, March 2, 2018
PolitiFact, The baseless claim that slain DNC staffer Seth Rich gave emails to WikiLeaks, May 23, 2017
PolitiFact, Seth Rich: Separating fact and speculation, Aug. 7, 2017
PolitiFact, Conspiracy theory that Comey hid Seth Rich’s ties to WikiLeaks based on retracted story, May 26, 2017
PolitiFact, Mueller report aims to squash WikiLeaks Seth Rich conspiracy theory, April 18, 2019
PolitiFact, Fake headline says Donna Brazile knows Seth Rich was murdered by Clintons, Nov. 15, 2017
The New York Times, Fox News reaches settlement with parents of Seth Rich, Nov. 24, 2020
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
Old misinformation about Democratic party staffer Seth Rich gains new traction online
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.