Optics on Russia influencing Michigan and Wisconsin Look Bad

It's well known that Hillary lost Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania during the 2016 campaign for President:

• Politico: How Clinton lost Michigan — and blew the election. Across battlegrounds, Democrats blame HQ’s stubborn commitment to a one-size-fits-all strategy. By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE 12/14/2016 05:08 AM EST
• YouTube: CNN Mocks Hillary Clinton for Visiting Wisconsin and Michigan on Her Book Tour 09/06/2016 
• Detroit Free Press: How Clinton lost 'blue wall' states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin 11/09/2016
• The Washington Post: Ex-DNC aide hits back hard at Clinton, says her campaign ignored data on Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin 06/01/2017

Lo and behold, the story has now shifted to Russia influencing social media in Michigan and Wisconsin. 

• Daily KOS: CNN: Russian Facebook Ads Targeted Michigan & Wisconsin in 2016 Election 10/03/2017
• CNN: Exclusive: Russian-linked Facebook ads targeted Michigan and Wisconsin 
• Detroit Free Press: CNN says Russian-backed Facebook ads targeted Michigan 10/04/2017
• CNBC: Wisconsin, Michigan were reportedly main targets of Russia-linked ads on Facebook 10/04/2017
• Reuters: Wisconsin, Michigan were key targets of Russia-linked ads on Facebook: CNN 10/03/2017

As of about 11:00 am 10/05/2017, Politico may have dodged a bullet by not picking up and running the "CNN exclusive."

If you have an ounce of critical thinking skills, you would know the source of the messages is irrelevant as long as the messages can stand on their own evidence. Was the alleged "Russian influence" authentic? None of the aforementioned news media outlets seem to care.