How to play Pull-a-Smollett: the game of social engineering

How to play Pull-a-Smollett: the game of social engineering

"At the risk of losing the punch line in the translation, let me start with a Russian joke:

"We're sorry, but you're no longer welcome in our house."

"Why is that?"

"The last time you visited, one of our spoons went missing."

"What nonsense, why would I steal your silverware?"

"We're not saying you did, we found it a day later, but the resentment still remains."

While the stain on this poor fellow's reputation was accidental, we are now finding that such stains can be engineered, especially if the media is on your side. 
Consider the Trump-Russia collusion scenario. 
None of the claims against Trump have proven to be true, but "the resentment remains."
All of the examples of hate and violence by Trump supporters have also proven to be hoaxes, and yet the response usually is, "even if this one's a hoax, you can't deny that Trump has created an atmosphere of resentment, and so many hate crimes in the news can't all be hoaxes."
This is a projection...READ ALL!
In the meantime, here's a list of previous winners and their inspirational stories, courtesy of The Daily Caller.

A LIST OF HOAX 'HATE CRIMES' IN THE TRUMP ERA

• Anti-Muslim Hate Crime In Michigan Turns Out To Be A Hoax (Nov. 2016)
• Bisexual Student Fakes Trump-Inspired Hate Crime (Nov. 2016)
• Gas Station Racism Goes Viral - Then Police Debunk It (Nov. 2016)
• White Men Rob Muslim Woman Of Her Hijab And Wallet - Except It Never Happened (Nov. 2016)
• Church Organist Vandalizes Own Church (Nov. 2016)
• "Drunk White Men" Attack Muslim Woman In Story That Also Never Happened (Dec. 2016)
• White Guy Sets His Own Car On Fire, Paints Racial Slur On His Own Garage (Dec. 2016)
• Prankster Tricks Liberal Journalist Into Spreading Anti-Trump Hoax (Dec. 2016)
• Student Writes Anti-Muslim Graffiti On His Own Door (Feb. 2017)
• Israeli Man Behind Anti-Semitic Bomb Threats In The U.S. (April 2017)
• Hoax At St. Olaf (May 2017)
• Fake Hate At Air Force Academy Goes Viral (Sept. 2017)
• K-State Fake Hate Crime (Nov. 2017)
• Racist Graffiti Carried Out By Non-White Student (Nov. 2017)
• Waiter Fakes Note Calling Himself A Terrorist (July 2018)
• Waitress Fakes Racist Note, Blames Law Enforcement (July 2018)
• New York Woman's Hate Crime That Wasn't (Sept. 2018)
• Student Faked Racist Notes (Dec. 2018)
• The Covington Catastrophe (Jan. 2019)
• Bonus: Anti-Semitic Vandal Exposed As Democratic Activist (Nov. 2018)
• Bonus II: Trump-Inspired Racist Blaze At Black Church Was Carried Out By Black Churchgoer (Nov. 2016)