Video of Rachel Maddow Being Confronted By 'Russiagate' Activist Goes Viral

A video of MSNBC host Rachel Maddow being confronted by a 'Russiagate' activist has gone viral on social media.

Blogger Max Blumenthal took on the MSNBC host at Trucon 2023, a public event by the Truman Center held at the Marriott Marquis, Washington D.C. on Friday, June 2.

Keynote speaker Maddow gave her speech to a room full of attendees when Blumenthal walked up to the stage to complain about her coverage of the Steele Dossier, a now-largely discredited document about supposed links between Donald Trump and the Kremlin.

The alleged links between Trump and Russian officials to bolster his chances during the 2016 Presidential Election later became coined as "Russiagate."

Blumenthal also attacked Maddow over coverage of Russian bounties paid to Taliban leaders for dead American soldiers in Afghanistan. U.S. Intelligence said in 2021 it had found no conclusive evidence to support the claim.

The American blogger has published articles on The Grayzone website which has promoted pro-Russian propaganda and content sympathetic to authoritarian regimes. He has also appeared on Russian-state-owned news outlets RT and Sputnik.

During the speech, Blumenthal said: "Rachel, this speech is boring and paranoid. Can you explain why you promoted the Steele Dossier which has been proven to be a lie?

During the confrontation, Maddow could be seen looking at Blumenthal's badge, while people could be heard complaining or booing his actions.

He continued: "Why did you promote the lie of Russian bounties? Can you ever be held accountable for the lies you've told Americans for years and years?"

The video has been seen an estimated 1.3 million times, and liked on more than 14,700 occasions since being shared on Friday, June 2.

In a separate video at the event uploaded by Blumenthal, he asked a panel about how many bombs by Trucon sponsor Lockheed Martin were dropped on children in Palestine and Syria.

He then asked whether any non-binary U.S. Navy divers blew up the Nord Stream pipeline, which supplies gas to other parts of Europe from Russia, off the coast of Denmark and Sweden.

The people behind the Nord Stream explosion remain unknown with various governments and organizations blaming either Russia, the U.S., or Ukraine for the blast.

Newsweek has contacted Blumenthal via The Grayzone website and the Truman Center for comment.

The Grayzone has previously been criticized by Elliot Higgins, founder of investigative journalism group Bellingcat, who said an article published on the website had been "aided by AI, and not the smart kind."

Lucy Komisar who wrote the article critical of an Oscar-winning film about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny previously told Newsweek it was "false" the article was written by AI.

She did admit that ChatSonic, a conversational AI chatbot, had been used as "a partial source and reference" because she believed it was accurate. Komisar added five or the 27 links in the article needed fixing and that they had done so.

The Grayzone later removed the article from its website at the request of Komisar who has published it on her website.

Blumenthal's outlet has also been criticized by numerous news outlets over its denialism of China's repression of the mainly Muslim Uyghur minority.

While China denies allegations of human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch and other organizations have published reports that accuse Beijing of crimes against humanity.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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