A woman was recently caught trying to plant a fake story about Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore in the Washington Post to discredit the paper.
The hoaxer, identified by the paper as Jaime T. Phillips, told the paper that she was raped and impregnated by Moore as a teenager in 1992.
During the interviews, she repeatedly pressed The Post reporters to give their opinions on the effects that her claims could have on Moore's candidacy if she went public.
However, underscoring loopholes in the story, the paper confronted her claims and did not publish article based on her unsubstantiated account.
The Post journalists saw her on Monday morning entering the offices of Project Veritas, a conservative group that films undercover videos.
The organization, led by the activist James O'Keefe, has recently targeted journalists, trying to goad them into revealing biases or unethical schemes to discredit the news media.
The Post published an article on November 9 that included allegations that Moore once initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old named Leigh Corfman.
Phillips, first contacted The Post in a mysterious email on November 9, the newspaper reported.
It was sent just hours after the newspaper had published a story about Leigh Corfman, who said she was 14 years old when Mr. Moore, then 32, engaged in a sexual encounter with her. "Roy Moore in Alabama,'' the email to a Post reporter read, according to the story. "I might know something but I need to keep myself safe."
Moore has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, and a campaign official called the claims "a fabricated November surprise."
On why she had decided to contact the newspaper, the woman then said that she no longer wanted to participate in the story.
After The Post published its article about Phillips on Monday, O'Keefe said that he would respond with his own video about the newspaper.
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