I should clarify that I don't think there's much merit in the guilt-by-association smearing that happens after such events (or the stripped-of-context quote-mining character assassination the article engages in), and by "left-wing motivation" I did not mean to imply blame should fall on the left as a whole.

Unfortunately such smearing is very effective propaganda, so most people, including journalists, only take this position when it is their side getting smeared.