在周二的参议院听证会上，极端保守派人士埃里克·施密特（Eric Schmitt）猛烈抨击了杰克·史密斯（Jack Smith），试图揪住这位前特别检察官的谎言——尤其是关于他在调查唐纳德·特朗普期间行为的问题。然而，施密特的事实完全错误；不过，从右翼媒体的报道来看，这一点根本无法被察觉。
MAGA firebrand Eric Schmitt came after Jack Smith during a dramatic Senate hearing on Tuesday, attempting to catch the former special counsel in a lie about his conduct during his high-profile investigations of Donald Trump. Schmitt, however, had his facts completely wrong — not that you’d know it by watching the right wing content mill.
那些极端保守派的“意见领袖”非但没有承认自己的错误，反而继续坚持施密特的错误主张，坚称史密斯在2024年初谎称自己参加了亚特兰大老鹰队（Atlanta Hawks）的比赛。
Instead of admitting the mistake, some MAGA tastemakers have doubled down on Schmitt’s completely wrong assertion that Smith was lying about attending an Atlanta Hawks game in early 2024.
施密特的错误实在令人难以置信：这位密苏里州参议员声称自己拥有短信证据，证明史密斯在2024年2月3日确实身处亚特兰大，从而认为史密斯可能与同样在调查特朗普的富尔顿县地方检察官法尼·威利斯（Fani Willis）有勾结。施密特所谓的“证据”，其实只是一系列来自史密斯工作人员的短信，这些短信中提到了某场篮球比赛；但他误以为那场比赛就是老鹰队对阵金州勇士队的比赛。
Schmitt’s original gaffe has to be seen to be believed. The Missouri senator thought that he had text messages that proved that Smith was in Atlanta on Feb. 3, 2024, which he believed would have indicated that Smith was somehow colluding with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who was also investigating Trump. Schmitt’s “proof,” was a series of text messages from Smith’s staff that referenced a basketball game, which Schmitt was certain was the Hawks’ game against the Golden State Warriors.
后来史密斯才意识到，这些短信实际上指的是他当天参加的马里兰大学女子篮球队对阵爱荷华大学的比赛。参议员艾米·克洛布查尔（Amy Klobuchar）指出，施密特很可能将爱荷华大学的吉祥物（“Hawkeyes”）误认成了亚特兰大老鹰队。
The texts referenced a game, yes, but one that Smith soon realized likely referred to the University of Maryland women’s NCAA game against the University of Iowa that he attended the same day. Sen. Amy Klobuchar delightedly pointed out that Schmitt had probably mistaken the Hawkeyes (Iowa’s mascot) for the Atlanta Hawks.
尽管有如此确凿的证据表明施密特的论点完全站不住脚，极端保守派媒体依然坚持他的错误观点。几分钟后，施密特又在《查理·柯克秀》（The Charlie Kirk Show）节目中试图挽回自己的声誉，虚弱地坚称自己一直以来都是正确的。
Despite this pretty conclusive proof that Schmitt was up the creek without a paddle, MAGA media has doubled down. Here’s Schmitt just minutes later, on The Charlie Kirk Show, attempting to launder his reputation with a feeble insistence that he was right all along.
支持“MAGA”（让美国再次伟大）观点的评论员本尼·约翰逊也将施密特提出的质疑视为一种“胜利”。他在施密特被证明是错误之前，就发布了一段与该对话相关的片段。约翰逊写道：“参议员埃里克·施密特刚刚揭露了杰克·史密斯在作证时的伪证行为；史密斯当时显得非常震惊。”
MAGA commentator Benny Johnson also cast Schmitt’s questioning as a win. He posted an out-of-context clip of the exchange, before it was revealed that Schmitt was wrong. “Senator Eric Schmidt Just CAUGHT Jack Smith perjuring himself on the stand in his testimony,” Johnson wrote, adding that Smith was “stunned.”
约翰逊只是众多试图将这一事件渲染成戏剧性场面的右翼账号之一。另一个拥有近30万粉丝的账号@overton_news写道：“名誉扫地的前特别检察官杰克·史密斯彻底崩溃了——因为施密特拿出了史密斯显然不知道自己拥有的证据。那一刻，史密斯完全不知所措。”从某种程度上来说，史密斯确实感到震惊——但似乎只是因为他完全不明白施密特在说什么。
Johnson was one of multiple right-wing engagement-farming accounts that tried to recast the moment as a dramatic narrative in which Smith is left floored by Schmitt’s line of questioning. “Disgraced former special counsel Jack Smith completely UNRAVELS as Senator Eric Schmitt pulls receipts that Smith apparently didn’t know he had,” wrote @overton_news, which has nearly 300,000 followers. “It was a deer-in-the-headlights moment.”In a way, Smith was stunned — but seemingly only because he had no idea what Schmitt was talking about.
约翰逊在周二晚些时候删除了自己的帖子（该帖子已经发布了数小时）。肖恩·汉尼提（Sean Hannity）也转发了施密特的相关内容，但很快也删除了自己发布的帖子。
Johnson deleted his post later on Tuesday, after it had been up for hours with a community correction. Sean Hannity also picked up and ran with Schmitt’s story, but deleted his post highlighting the moment soon after.
然而，这些愤世嫉俗的社交媒体账号显然明白：坚持自己的观点并不会带来什么后果。如果人们最先看到的版本就是他们的版本，那么他们很可能会相信这个版本。最终，公众会相信哪个版本的真相，其实取决于社交媒体算法的判断……但在这个事件中，只有其中一个版本的陈述是符合事实的。
Cynical social media accounts like the ones above, however, likely know there’s little consequence in doubling down. If their version of the event is the first one someone sees, more likely than not it’ll be the one they believe. It’s up to the algorithm to decide which version of the truth the public believes — but only one story, in this case, has the facts on its side.
至于施密特本人，面对自己的错误，他显得依然固执己见。《华盛顿太阳报》报道称：“在对话结束后，施密特表示：‘我问过他是否在亚特兰大，他说他不在亚特兰大。’杰克·史密斯以前就撒过谎，他还试图将美国总统关进监狱。我对杰克·史密斯毫无同情之心——他就是一个彻头彻尾的混蛋。”
Schmitt, for his part, seems defiant in the face of his error. “I asked him if he was in Atlanta. He said he was not in Atlanta,” he said following the exchange, according to The Washington Sun. “Jack Smith has lied before. He tried to jail the president of the United States. I have no sympathy for Jack Smith. He’s a total dirtbag.”