Viral posts falsely name Savannah Guthrie’s husband as a ‘co-conspirator’ in the Epstein files
Justice Department documents do not mention Michael Feldman or his firm despite widespread social media claims
After Nancy Guthrie’s Feb.1 abduction from her Tucson, Arizona, home, her daughter “Today” host Savannah Guthrie put out a call on social media for tips on her mother’s whereabouts, pleading for her safe return.
So far, social media users have been less than helpful. With the Justice Department’s Jan. 30 release of more than 3 million pages of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, X users proposed bogus links between the abduction and the file release.
Multiple X posts include a photo of Savannah Guthrie’s family and an accusation about her husband, Michael Feldman.
Related Knowledge Center: Fact-checking and its detractors
Fact-checking has become a familiar tool for political reporters to hold office-holders and candidates accountable. But critics ask if fact-checkers sometimes miss the forest for the trees, and if the practice often struggles with false equivalency the way conventional political coverage does.