The article Woman admits she was paid to frame Bill Cosby with rape was first published on junk news website News Punch in July 2017. It has since been republished on Your News Wire, SplenGroup, the fake TMZNewsOnline.net and South African website Abasiki Bebunda.
The article says an unnamed “Hollywood insider” has come forward to say the sexual assault allegations against Cosby are part of an “Illuminati plot” to prevent him from buying the NBC television network.
It adds that one of Cosby’s accusers, a model who worked for the Wilhelmina modelling agency, “has since admitted that she was paid to destroy Bill’s reputation”.
Conspiracy theory debunked
US fact-checking site Snopes has already debunked the story as it appeared on Abasiki Bebunda. Snopes says that while it’s true Cosby was reportedly interested in buying the NBC network in 1992, the idea that he was framed to stop the deal was first suggested by late comedian and conspiracy theorist Dick Gregory in 2015.
The story that an unnamed former Wilhelmina model admitted to being paid to make false accusations against Cosby was first published in 2014 on a website that no longer exists.
No evidence suggests Cosby was framed, or that he remained interested in buying the NBC network. – Africa Check (27/03/19)
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Further Reading
‘A time of crisis’: fact-checking South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2023 state of the nation address
As he tried to reignite the enthusiasm of a wearied nation, did the president get his facts right? As we found out, it's all in the details.
[email protected]: The challenges of working across Africa
Misinformation knows no borders and Africa Check often responds to similar false claims from country to country.
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