This election.  The woman who previously had charged that she was raped and sexually assaulted by both Donald Trump as well as Jeffrey Epstein, when she was 13, has dropped her case. This is one of the more sordid stories to come out of this election cycle, as the accuser has changed her mind, her story and even her pseudonym more than once.

The Daily Mail has an exclusive interview with the alleged victim, including a “People Magazine” style photo shoot.  These photos and initial interview took place before the now infamous press conference where the alleged victim did not show, but instead sent her lawyer to speak in her place.

On Wednesday, Johnson suddenly cancelled a press conference at which she was set to reveal herself for the first time, saying she was ‘too afraid’ following a series of ‘threats’ against her.

The charges were then formally dropped on Friday.  I’m not sure there is a winner in this case politically. Any time the public hears about Jeffrey Epstein’s lude sex preferences it inevitably leads back to both Presidential Candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary’s beloved, Bill Clinton.  One thing is clear this woman needs medical attention more than she needs media attention.

In reading up on this unimaginable tale, I stumbled across an interesting piece with a significant amount of backstory on both the alleged victim and the details of the case,  on a site called “The Slot” a branch of Jezebel.

Jezebel previously detailed the bizarre backstory behind two lawsuits Johnson filed against Trump and celebrity sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who she said also raped her at a party in 1994. A group of men worked for a year to push the rape allegations into the news, while preventing access to Johnson. No journalist has ever been able to speak to her directly in person or confirm her existence. However, her attorney, Thomas Francis Meagher of New Jersey, has told Jezebel he’s met with his client on several occasions and has gotten to know her “quite well.”

In other news, there is a semi-political web page called, “The Slot”. It deals with exactly the type of articles and storylines that you’re imaging.  It’s 2016, this is where we are, some say this is what we deserve.

That first part is definitely true and the second idea is compelling.  We’ve witness paragons of Conservatism and critical thinking go from quoting the Wall Street Journal, to citing the National Enquirer and Infowars.  Media is a tricky thing.  They only keep serving up what their audience is consuming.  Which says quite a bit about their audiences. This year when the usual friendly outlets weren’t giving them the angles they wanted, suddenly the larger media voices, Rush, Hannity and the others found websites more than willing to give them exactly the level of outrage needed, the salacious scandals and conspiracy theories were absolutely certain to follow. Thus leaving us where we are now.

Once the line of truth is crossed even once to expound upon a story, to make a point or to further your agenda, stepping over it the next time becomes easier, suddenly there is no line at all.

As with many of the “juicy” scandals this season, there appears to be little truth to this poor woman’s claims.  The lack of evidence or credibility did little to stop the media from running with this headline grabbing narrative.  It’s frustrating to watch “fake stories” flood the media zone, while real issues become background noise.