WASHINGTON, D.C. Feb 21 (DPI) – The now-notorious episode in which a young actor staged a hate crime in Chicago has triggered an unsurprising uproar, with no target now more vilified than the mainstream American press, nearly all of which for days reported the story as confirmed fact.

Reader comments across the political spectrum were quick to point out some obvious points – that Jussie Smollett’s hoax just made America even more skeptical of claims of victims of hate crimes, and that Smollett, by being so foolhardy, just ended his own career, and that most didn’t know who Jussie Smollett even was before this incident.

But much of the public’s ire seems directed at the mainstream media, which reported on the story with nary of of doubt or skepticism, even though many saw the details – that a noose was hung around Smollett’s head by two alleged attackers on a Chicago street in frigid weather in the middle of the night, with surveillance cameras on every block – sounded somewhat far-fetched.

Today, as the Chicago chief of police outlined charges against Smollett, and explained that Smollett was motivated to stage a hate crime because he was “dissatisfied with his salary,” comment boards across news sites were alight with reaction.

Among the most popular comments on WSJ.com:

The big story from this  incident has nothing to do with Smollett: It is about the continuing decline in the professionalism, accuracy,  and objectivity of the media. They are biased, they are bold about it, and they couldn’t care less that we know  it. A nation needs a competent, independent, and objective media: We no longer have it, and it’s a very bad sign for this country.

On WashingtonPost.com:

The parallels between the WaPo’s early embrace of this story and its premature stance against the Covington HS students are symptomatic of the systemic corruption of the liberal press.

From NYTimes.com:

Actions like this exist because the demand for racism from the left exceeds the supply. It’s time for our politicians, academia and the media to reflect carefully what all this identity politics is doing to our country and culture. I’m only voting for a moderate who is not obsessed with race and gender in 2020, unfortunately that seems to leave out most of the current Democratic presidential candidates and our president.

Of course, Mr. Smollett should be considered innocent until proven guilty. The same way that the press and users of social media treated the teenagers from Covington, KY when they were being heckled by the Black Hebrew Israelites. The real story here isn’t Jussie Smollett. Rather, the story is how often, and how severely multiple press outlets will repeat and promote stories which fit their narrative, even when those stories are full of holes.

There could never be more proof of how easily it is to manipulate the media. The fact he was caught does not let the media off the hook for falling for such an obvious hoax.