After the Mueller report was released showing that the Democrats’ Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy theory was an elaborate hoax, the media figure arguably most responsible for pushing this lie – Rachel Maddow – has now seen a huge dip in ratings.

The MSNBC host has lost a jaw-dropping 20 percent of her audience in the wake of the Mueller report’s release.

Maddow was one of the top promoters of the Russia hoax — and now has taken a significant hit.

Related: Giuliani on the Fake Collusion Narrative: Who Was Responsible?

The Drudge Report had some fun with Maddow’s current misfortune on Wednesday.

When you constantly concoct lies and fabrications based on loose information at best and suck your audience in with your wild-eyed delusions, don’t be surprised when that audience leaves you the moment they discover you’re a fraud.

What’s next? “Over the past several days, MSNBC and other media outlets have been the targets of criticism from Trump supporters and others who felt the network’s journalists and commentators had spent too much time obsessing over the Mueller investigation and drawing conclusions that were not borne out by Barr’s summary,” the liberal Daily Beast reports.

“Within MSNBC, there’s an acknowledgment that the Trump-Russia narrative on which the cable network — and especially its primetime star Maddow — built monster ratings has fizzled for the moment.”

“And it’s also possible that the Mueller disappointment drove loyal viewers away in much the same way that people avoid looking at their 401(k)s when the stock market is down,” The Daily Beast notes.

“Maddow, who has consistently vied for the first or second top-rated cable news program, was sixth on Monday evening, down almost 500,000 total viewers from the previous Monday, as was MSNBC’s second top-rated program in primetime, ‘The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell.'”

“Conversely, ‘It was obviously a big couple of nights for Fox,’ said one network insider, claiming, however, that “nobody at MSNBC is panicking,” according to The Daily Beast.

While the outlet probably should not be outright panicked, they are taking a hit — and it’s doubtful Maddow will be the powerhouse she was during the first half of Trump’s presidency.

That is, unless … the Left cooks up some other hoax to try to pin on the president.

Given the current embarrassment over the Mueller report, would they dare? Don’t put it past Rachel Maddow, in our view.

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This piece originally appeared in The Political Insider and is used by permission.

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