Trump’s latest attempt to defend his “choir boy,” explained.

Republicans’ latest bid to make it seem as if Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was not credibly accused of attempted rape is a striking example of how quickly misinformation spreads in the conservative ecosystem.

Kavanaugh, who was confirmed to the top U.S. court in a 50-48 Senate vote last month despite multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, has been defended by Republicans. Many decided Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony that she was the victim of an attempted to rape as a teenager was credible, but said they believed that she had mistaken the identity of her assailant, and that it was not Kavanaugh, as she alleged.

The “mistaken identity” conspiracy theory was promoted by prominent conservatives, including a bizarre series of tweets from a former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia and Kavanaugh acquaintance that relied on screenshots from Zillow, before inevitably making its way to Fox News.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) suggested Dr. Ford might be “mixed up” about who actually attempted to rape her days before the “mistaken identity” conspiracy theory started to gain traction in conservative media.

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