Fake news: Now an epidemic in America: Part III

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Step 4 of the Formula: Sometimes Accidental Deaths Occur Afterwards

Unfortunately, in the fake news Formula, some of the people involved in the story often die and never have the opportunity to tell their account of what happened. In the case of the death of bin Laden, this part of the story is dramatic and tragic.

On August 6, 2011, almost exactly three months after President Obama's bin Laden press conference, a Chinook CH-47 transport helicopter carrying U.S. and Afghan military forces on a mission in Afghanistan was reported shot down. Thirty Americans soldiers and eight Afghans were killed in the attack and crash. Seventeen of the U.S. servicemen killed were Navy SEALs, including 15 from SEAL Team Six. It was the costliest day in Team Six history and the deadliest day for U.S. forces in the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan. The bodies of SEAL Team Six were also cremated.

Step 5 of the Formula: Official Investigation is Conducted, Showing Government is not at Fault

Though the official military report had been filed in 2012, in July 2013, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigated the helicopter crash after family members of the victims publicly questioned whether the U.S. government may have been in some way responsible for the deaths. They held a press conference suggesting the U.S. government endangered the SEALs by making their role in killing bin Laden public, using it for political purposes.

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