Election power

Here is a hypothetical case that could well happen in today's news world. It is a close presidential election and just a week before voting day a major newspaper comes out with a story that rocks the country. It says that according to an anonymous source candidate John Smith was accused by six youths of molesting them in his home. The source says this happened over a period of months with different children each time. This information was passed on to the FBI for further investigation. A few weeks after the election which Smith lost the same newspaper reports that their anonymous was found to be unreliable and in fact a activist who opposed Smith. The newspaper apologized on page 8. While many have expressed concern about the power of the social media companies, the old time established press can also effect elections.