On 27 August 2016, the web site Scorched Earth News published an article reporting that, according to e-mail purportedly released by "sources close to" WikiLeaks, Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffers had referred to voters in Pennsylvania and Ohio (both key swing states in the upcoming presidential election) as "blue collar, poor white trash":
Julian Assange is ready to leak some more deleted emails from the DNC and Hillary’s private server, and sources close to WikiLeaks have released data on the dark web about what it entails ... Samples from the email:
“They’re blue collar, poor white trash, and similar to 'the Jew's' supporters and we can peal them away.”
“They’ll believe anything.”
“We beat Romney by reminding them that he was rich”
As the assertion appeared not long after genuine DNC e-mails were posted by WikiLeaks, many readers took the story at face value — even though the the complete, searchable archive of WikiLeaks' leaked DNC e-mails includes no messages matching the ones quoted and reproduced above.
This story was just a bit of fiction that originated with Scorched Earth News, which is a fake news site and not a legitimate news outlet of any description. In addition to the fabricated claim about leaked derogatory e-mails discussed above, that site has published fake stories under such headlines as "Cincinnati Zoo Finds Slain Harambe’s Tomb Empty, Zookeepers Astounded" and "Creepy Carolina Clowns Campaigning for Clinton."