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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Fake Lincoln in Pravda

A Pravda article by Moti Nissani starts with this quotation
The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, and more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes. I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the Bankers in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe. Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money powers of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed." -- Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States
As previous posts have noted, this quotation is fake.  Lincoln never said anything of the kind.

Thomas Schwartz traced the history of the fake quotation in his 1999 essay "Lincoln Never Said That,"

By the way, Pravda is the Russian word for "truth."