The Obama administration came under fire on Wednesday after Reuters and Fox News reported that internal State Department emails revealed that an Islamic militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the Benghazi attacks on social media platforms, but this afternoon, Hillary Clinton fired back saying U.S. intelligence isn't based on random Facebook posts.
"Posting something on Facebook is not in and of itself evidence," Clinton told the AP while at the State Department. "I think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be."
The popular social network became the center of attention after Reuters' Mark Hosenball reported that a State Department e-mail sent to the White House Situation Room and other agencies noted that the Al Qaeda-affiliated group Ansar al-Sharia claimed responsibility for last month's deadly attack on Facebook and Twitter. "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli," read the message. It was sent at 6 p.m. Washington time on September 11. The revelation lit up the blogosphere drawing scrutiny from conservative outlets from National Review to The Washington Times as to why the administration wasn't quicker to blame the Al Qaeda-linked group.
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