Fake news has nearly triggered inter-state nuclear conflict

Evidence

A few weeks after “pizzagate,” the Pakistani defense minister threatened nuclear retaliation against Israel as a result of a fake news story he had read that said “Israeli Defense Minister: If Pakistan sends ground troops to Syria on any pretext, we will destroy their country with a nuclear attack.” If the Spanish-American War was started by fake news, is it so outrageous to think that another war could be too? Where might this stop? — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 219

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth verifying the full account of the Pakistani defense minister’s December 2016 threat and its diplomatic aftermath.