Netflix's 'Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies, and the Internet' discusses the murder of Seth Rich in the second episode of the show. Seth, who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, was killed in Washington, D.C. in 2016. He was shot twice by the murderer. The authority stated that he was killed during the robbery attempt. However, his parents and many media disagreed. Media organizations like NPR and Wikileaks also tried to showcase a close look at Seth's murder. Follow the article to know what actually happened to Seth Rich.
'Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies, and the Internet' is the latest Netflix docu-series that looks at some of the more malicious and disturbing ways people are tricked or utilize the internet for their own fraudulent benefit. With the exception of a two-part episode towards the conclusion, each of these chapters is around an hour long and may be read on its own.
Ron Howard, who deserves a special place in TV history as the brilliantly witty narrator of Arrested Development, is a co-producer on this fascinating and fast-paced new series.
The second episode, A Murder in DC, is about the 2016 assassination of DNC staffer Seth Rich, which sparked widespread conspiracy theories including Wikileaks and eventually QAnon. Viewers of the show seek more details about his murder. Well, here is everything we know about Seth Rich.
Previously, we touched on the story of Jack Burkman, Andrew Finch, Shane Gaskill, Tyler Barriss, and Adelina Finch.
What Happened to Seth Rich? Who Killed Him?
Seth Rich was murdered in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. on July 10, 2016, around 4:20 a.m. Rich was shot twice in the back and died an hour and a half later. He was killed by unknown gunmen for unknown reasons, but authorities initially assumed he was the victim of a robbery attempt.
Seth Rich, a 27-year-old Democratic National Committee (DNC) employee, was murdered, sparking plenty of right-wing conspiracy theories, including the false claim, contradicted by the law enforcement agencies investigating the case, that Rich was involved in the leaked DNC emails in 2016.
It was also contradicted by the accusation of 12 Russian military intelligence agents in July 2018 for hacking Democratic Party officials' e-mail accounts and networks, as well as the US intelligence community's conclusion that the leaked DNC emails were part of Russian interference in the 2016 US elections.
The theories were found to be false and unproven by fact-checking websites such as PolitiFact, Snopes, and FactCheck.org. The promotion of these conspiracy ideas was labeled as false news by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.
Seth Rich's family criticized the conspiracy theorists, claiming that they were exploiting their son's death for political gain, and a spokesperson for the family called the conspiracy theorists disgusting sociopaths.
After Fox News promoted the conspiracy theory, they demanded a retraction and apology from the network, as well as sent a cease-and-desist letter to the investigator Fox News used. The investigator indicated that he did not have any proof to back up the claims made by Fox News.
Fox News issued a retraction but made no public apology or explanation of what went wrong. In March 2018, the Rich family filed a lawsuit against Fox News, alleging that the network was engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct by fabricating the story defaming their son and causing them emotional distress.
On May 23, 2017, his parents published an article in The Washington Post titled: We're Seth Rich's parents. Stop politicizing our son's murder. They stated,
"We are asking you to please consider our feelings and words. There are people who are using our beloved Seth's memory and legacy for their own political goals, and they are using your outrage to perpetuate our nightmare. We ask those purveying falsehoods to give us peace, and to give law enforcement the time and space to do the investigation they need to solve our son's murder."
The case was initially dismissed by the judge, but in September 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit allowed the case to proceed. In October 2020, Fox News reached a seven-figure settlement with the Rich family.
Before leaving, have a glance at Samantha Froelich, Kevin Doherty, Justin Rapp, and Tyler Barriss' ethnicity.
Visit Netflix Deed for more interesting stories about your favorite shows.
