Right-wing media has egg on its face after Smollett's exoneration

Hate crimes are real. No doubt about it. They happen because hateful people who commit them are allowed out in society - unfortunately.

In January, actor Jussie Smollett claimed to be the victim of a racist, homophobic, politically charged assault in Chicago. At first, I had no reason to think it was a hoax - because I couldn't think of any hate crimes that turned out to be hoaxes. The right-wing media claims hate crime hoaxes are an everyday thing, but you'd be hard-pressed to name even a single one. I remembered one racist hate crime years ago in which the victim was charged with faking it, but it turned out to be real, and the victim was cleared - though right-wing commentators continued to claim it was a hoax.

Later, some evidence emerged that appeared to suggest Smollett had faked the attack. But he insisted on his innocence. The evidence didn't seem to work in his favor, but I was one of the last people on this Earth who thought there was a chance - however small - he might be innocent. Evidence is not solid proof. Modern America has a long enough record of hate crimes - and cover-ups - that I thought there was still a possibility the attack against Smollett was real.

Now it's been announced that Smollett has been completely exonerated of all criminal charges that accused him of faking the attack. Cleared. Charges dropped. He is completely innocent. In fact, the charges were completely expunged from his record.

In other words, corrupt police officials and the right-wing media just spent 2 months trying to frame an actor for faking a hate crime. This shows once again we can't just rely on evidence without waiting for facts that contradict it. This time, the false narrative was more effective than usual at manipulating public opinion.

It's unclear whether Smollett is planning any legal action against the Chicago Police Department for its bungling of the case. I think Congress needs to open an investigation into the media's repeated lying about cases like this. Media executives and commentators need to be hauled before legislators to answer some tough questions.