State Sen. Chad Barefoot, R-Wake, has made some intriguing (but baseless) accusations about an anti-fracking group that has been running ads against him in the state Senate race, according to a fundraising email obtained by local news station WRAL, which states:
“The environmentalists are on the attack again – and this time, Russia is in the mix.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Rasmussen stated last week that the Russians are “secretly” joining forces with extreme liberal environmental groups to spread misinformation regarding energy exploration by funding “anti-fracking groups.”
Their goal – maintain dependence on Russian natural gas.”
Environmental groups involved in the campaign have denied any such involvement, and it is unclear where Mr. Barefoot’s information on this conspiracy came from, since no information about such connections exist. In an attempt to fact-check, WRAL found that “Rasmussen’s claim is hard to assess because he did not, during his speech, lay out the basis for the claim.”