What We're Watching: Steele Dossier skewered

November 14, 2021

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017.

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

US media trust wars. Remember the Steele Dossier? Yes, the oppo research on Donald Trump compiled by a former British spy that alleged Russia had kompromatleverage over the then-US presidential candidate. After Trump won the 2016 election, several media outlets openly hostile to Trump covered the unverified report — Buzzfeed even published it in full — to suggest that Russia helped get Trump elected. Trump and the GOP-friendly media blasted it as part of a liberal "witch hunt" to undermine his election victory. Well, in the past few days the dossier itself has been skewered after Igor Danchenko, the source of the report's most juicy claim — that Trump got Russian prostitutes to defile a bed Barack Obama slept on in a Moscow hotel — was indicted for lying to the FBI about it. The charges against Danchenko subsequently led the Washington Post to correct two old articles that cited the dossier, the basis for FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign now being probed by US attorney John Durham. Expect the scandal to dominate the US political conversation for weeks, and drive an even bigger media trust wedge between Democrats and Republicans.

HARD NUMBERS: Terrorist attack in Jerusalem, US gets mail drop, Argentina’s Peronists stage capital comeback, OPEC+ to slow pace of increases, & More

The body of Israeli Levi Itzhak Pash, who was killed when Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop at the outskirts of Jerusalem, is transported on the day of his funeral procession in Jerusalem September 8, 2025.

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

A group of terrorists from the West Bank opened fire on civilians at a major junction in Jerusalem on Monday morning, killing at least six people and injuring another 21.

What We're Watching: Steele Dossier skewered

GZEROMEDIA

More from GZERO Media

What We’re Watching: Israel strikes Hamas leaders in Qatar, Nepal prime minister resigns, Norway election results

Graphic Truth: Japan’s Rice Price Explosion

One of the major factors that pushed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign over the weekend was inflation.

Who will be Japan’s next leader?

GZERO spoke to Eurasia Group’s Japan Director David Boling about why Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned after less than a year in charge, and about who will replace him.

Hard Numbers: Walmart heads to Africa, Israel orders Gaza City evacuation, France faces financial fallout, & More

1: US retail giant Walmart is set to launch its first store in Africa by the end of the year, opening a location in South Africa, the continent’s most industrialized economy.

Trade and tariffs: Latest analysis and global impacts

Get insights from RBC Capital Markets’ experts on the evolving global trade dynamics and the potential effects of tariffs on the economy, financial markets, and across industries.

GZEROMEDIA

Russia-Ukraine war escalation

In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer analyzes how the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on with no sign of winding down any time soon.

Florida seeks to lift vaccine mandate

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s plan to repeal childhood vaccine mandates in the state’s public schools has prompted further debate over shots, states’ rights, and medical freedoms.

HARD NUMBERS: Terrorist attack in Jerusalem, US gets mail drop, Argentina’s Peronists stage capital comeback, OPEC+ to slow pace of increases, & More

A group of terrorists from the West Bank opened fire on civilians at a major junction in Jerusalem on Monday morning, killing at least six people and injuring another 21.

What We’re Watching: Japan’s PM steps down, France to oust Prime Minister, Protesters killed after Nepal bans social media

AI is already discovering new cures

Siddhartha Mukherjee explains how AI is designing entirely new medicines—molecules that may have never existed—by learning the rules of chemistry and generating drugs with unprecedented speed and precision.

What We're Watching: Steele Dossier skewered

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

More from GZERO Media

One of the major factors that pushed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign over the weekend was inflation.

GZERO spoke to Eurasia Group’s Japan Director David Boling about why Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned after less than a year in charge, and about who will replace him.

1: US retail giant Walmart is set to launch its first store in Africa by the end of the year, opening a location in South Africa, the continent’s most industrialized economy.

Get insights from RBC Capital Markets’ experts on the evolving global trade dynamics and the potential effects of tariffs on the economy, financial markets, and across industries.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer analyzes how the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on with no sign of winding down any time soon.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s plan to repeal childhood vaccine mandates in the state’s public schools has prompted further debate over shots, states’ rights, and medical freedoms.

A group of terrorists from the West Bank opened fire on civilians at a major junction in Jerusalem on Monday morning, killing at least six people and injuring another 21.

Siddhartha Mukherjee explains how AI is designing entirely new medicines—molecules that may have never existed—by learning the rules of chemistry and generating drugs with unprecedented speed and precision.