Did NBC Manufacture False News ???

Was the kidnapping of an NBC journalist and his crew a hoax?

NBC and Engel admitted on Thursday that their original narrative - that Engel and his crew were kidnapped by Assad’s shadow forces - no longer stands up. Inspired by a recent New York Times investigation, Engel and NBC released a new report admitting that they were kidnapped by a group with Syrian rebel ties:

“Here is what we found based on facts gathered from dozens of sources inside and outside of Syria, including two sources with first-hand knowledge of events:

• The group that kidnapped us was Sunni, not Shia.
• The group that kidnapped us put on an elaborate ruse to convince us they were Shiite Shabiha militiamen
• The group that kidnapped us was a criminal gang with shifting allegiances.
• The group that freed us also had ties to the kidnappers.”

In an exclusive report published by Consortiumnews, investigative reporter Robert Parry concludes that Engel’s kidnapping was a false flag designed to bolster overseas support for Syrian rebels’ war on Assad’s government.

http://www.mintpressnews.com/new-details-on-syrian-kidnapping-of-richard-engel-reveal-rebel-false-flag/204536/

Here is Robert Parry's article about this:

https://consortiumnews.com/2015/04/16/syrian-rebels-caught-in-false-flag-kidnapping/

Do you perhaps see a pattern here?

• A false narrative about GM trucks
• Brian William's imaginary "news" stories
• This false flag kidnapping story

Maybe there is no pattern, trend, or intent to deceive here, but the situation certainly suggests that anything you see or hear in the MSM is suspect until proven to be accurate. And how easy is it to do that?

Update: Here is Glenn Greenwald's take on this story:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/NBC-s-Conduct-In-Engel-Kid-by-Glenn-Greenwald-Assad_Kidnapped_Nbc-News_Richard-Engel-150417-376.html