“[T]oo many reporters have forgotten that the highestcalling of journalists is to ferret out the truth, consequences be damned.”
- Arianna Huffington, July 29, 2008
“[W]e are increasingly seen ... as an Internet newspaper, not positioned ideologically in terms of how we cover the news.”
- Arianna Huffington, May 22, 2009
On May 29, 2011 (Memorial Day Sunday), HuffPost decided to launch yet another one of its assaults on Sarah Palin based on false, incendiary allegations.
This time, HuffPost's assault related to the circumstances under which Palin participated in the Rolling Thunder rally.
And as usual, HuffPost disregarded its own rules, and instead chose to enable hatred, death wishes and gutter vulgarity to be posted against Palin and her family, in response to the incitement it provided. A sampling of the "comments" that HuffPost reviewed, approved and decided to publish, from its radical leftist Moderators and users:
"Maybe she will develop a yeast infection."
"I've never hoped for a fatal motorcycle crash until now."
"Normally, I am very much in favor of gun control. Sarah Palin is my exception to that. Unfortunately, the crazies shoot the good guys."
"Who takes care of that down syndrome child of hers. It seems like more of a prop."Above: As HuffPost's latest assault on Sarah Palin occurred over Memorial Day weekend, and in regards to the U.S. military, it's worth remembering: here she was in Kuwait in 2007, visiting with the U.S. military. Do you know why she's been welcomed at our military installations --- and why our soldiers would be 100% justified in keeping Arianna Huffington "outside the wire"? Read "Commentary" at the end of this article.
(1) HuffPost's primary smear: Its claim that Sarah Palin rode with the Rolling Thunder rally on the back of a motorcycle that had a sign on its windshield that asked, "Miss me?"
This was the splash headline that HuffPost published at 12:15pm on May 29, and left up for most of the rest of the day:
The headline led to this story, produced by HuffPost and its news "partner," the AP, which claimed:
"On the windshield of Palin's bike: a likeness of President George W. Bush. Next to it, the words 'Miss Me?'"
Let's take a look at photos of the windshield of that motorcycle, from different angles:
Click to enlarge these pictures. Do you see "a likeness of President George W. Bush [on the windshield]. Next to it, the words 'MISS ME?''" Neither do we. Because it's not there.
Even if you dislike Sarah Palin, do you really think she'd show up at a Rolling Thunder rally, riding on the back of a Harley with a sign on the front that says, "MISS ME?" (DailyKos, MoveOn, DD, DU and CodePink readers, don't bother responding). Sane people know that the answer is, "Of course not."
(2) HuffPost's second smear: Its claim that the Rolling Thunder organizers' policy was that Palin should not attend their rally --- but that she disregarded their wishes and attended anyway --- when the truth was known more than 24 hours earlier.
In the first version of HuffPost's story, it alleged that Rolling Thunders' organizers told Palin she was not welcome at the rally, and that she should not attend --- but that she did so anyway. That claim led to hundreds of hate-filled comments from HuffPost's moderators and users, such as this one:
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
edrice222
897 Fans
Once again Ms. Palin makes herself look the fool that she is. To usurp a function that was not hers, and to try overshadow the agenda of the veterans and use them for her own selfish purposes, was totally inappropriate and unwise. This will further alienate intelligent and decent people.
Permalink
But is it true? Of course not. Apparently, there was a miscommunication among Rolling Thunder's leadership a few days prior. When Palin expressed interest in attending the rally, its senior leaders formally extended an invitation to her; unfortunately, one of the rally's other principals, unaware of this, was confronted by a reporter, who asked how he felt about Sarah Palin planning on showing up at the rally --- and he reacted angrily.
The truth, however, was being disseminated throughout the blogosphere at 8:15am on May 28 --- more than 24 hours before HuffPost published its inflammatory headline (at 12:15pm on May 29) --- by Rolling Thunder itself, as first reported by Hot Air, a conservative blog to whom its (official) representatives spoke:
Yes, Palin Was Invited To Rolling Thunder
by Ed Morrisey, Hot Air, May 28, 2011 8:15am
The story traveled quickly through the conservative blogs. NewsBusters had a follow-up expose' here. So is it really possible that HuffPost's army of "hundreds of editors and reporters" --- which is able to finds stories like a man marrying his dog in Australia, women with "unibrows" in Tajikistan, and other nonsense from obscure corners of the world --- could have missed the truth? That they just forgot to take a look at the conservative blogs, or call Rolling Thunder's communications director, to find out for themselves what the truth was? That it was all an honest mistake? If you believe that, you'll be interested to know that Arianna Huffington is now selling timeshares... on Uranus.
To its credit, HuffPost did eventually remove the original allegation from the story. What HuffPost didn't do, however, was issue a correction to the story, to reflect what Rolling Thunder itself said, and what conservative blogs were reporting.
What reason could HuffPost have had do do this, except to keep the smear alive (that Palin basically "crashed" the Rolling Thunder rally, despite organizers' objections) --- and thus, continue allowing its Moderators and users to whip others into the hate-frenzy that erupted on the thread?
Even if you want to give HuffPost the benefit of the doubt, and attribute it to an honest accident or oversight, don't --- because as we show in Section 5, this is not an isolated incident. In fact, this is the second time HuffPost has outright lied about Sarah Palin, and the third time in which it has smeared her in so vile a way that it could only result in whipping radical leftists up into a hate-frenzy, over false allegations against her.
(3) HuffPost confirmed that only comments that it approved would appear on this thread
Right at the top of the Palin - Rolling Thunder story page, HuffPost helpfully reminded us of the fact that not a single comment appears on its threads until and unless it has been reviewed and approved by one of its Moderators:
"Our moderators screen these comments before they are published"
What types of comments does HuffPost say it will not publish? A sampling:
"We do not allow hate speech, nor do we allow speech that advocates or supports hatred... or sexism... or ad hominem attacks of any kind... or speech that is vile... ... or that advocates or supports hatred or unlawful violence (or) threats of violence or threats to anyone or any group's personal safety..."
--- HuffPost Comment Policy
HuffPost's Moderators are tasked with enforcing its comment policy,
and maintaining the "civil commenting environment" that Arianna has repeatedly - "We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to abusive or hateful language or comments." (3/20/08)
- "If you're looking for the usual flame-throwing, name-calling, and simplistic attack dog rhetoric ... don't bother coming to the Huffington Post." (5/6/05)
So what kinds of comments do you think HuffPost reviewed, approved and decided to publish from its esteemed Moderators on the Palin thread?
Let's take a look.
(4) A sampling of the comments that HuffPost enabled its MODERATORS to post, in response to its incitement against Sarah Palin:
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
ex-pat
144 Fans
maybe she will develop a yea$t infection....
Permalink
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Auldskul
927 Fans
No one else seems to be having a problem, puppet....looks like I got two b1tches for the price of one :-)
Permalink
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
librldem
391 Fans
OK so where is her 2008 stage-prop and who are that kids real mom and dad? [...]
Permalink
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
SpencersMom
1094 Fans
She is not genuine, she is not civil, she is reactionary, she is spiteful and vindictive, she cares nothing for those who do not support her wholeheartedly, she is erratic, she is intellectually deficient, she stirs up controversy to watch the fallout, she craves attention and money above all else. [...]
Permalink
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
zendem1
1396 Fans
Shes such a shameless liar. Always has been, always will be.
Permalink
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
jcinco
1183 Fans
I wish she would wash her hair, I can smell it from my porch in CO.
Permalink
And, following the Moderators' lead, HuffPost's rank and file USERS apparently felt confident that it would also ignore its rules, and approve the incendiary hate comments that they began vomiting up. They weren't disappointed. A sampling:
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
stacknef
50 Fans
Ive[sic] never hoped for a fatal motorcycle crash until now...
Permalink
dbsherri
46 Fans
Normally, I am very much in favor of gun control. Sarah Palin is my exception to that. Unfortunately, the crazies shoot the good guys.
Permalink
YahBetcha
48 Fans
Looks like Sarah Stupid is ho'in around for a new husband without Todd's Walmart wedding ring on her finger.
Permalink
Fortuna Victrix12 Fans
Who takes care of that down syndrome child of hers. It seems like more of a prop for her to use than a living being with needs that are paramount.
Permalink
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Paula Goodwin Gibbons
18 Fans
[...] We should start lesbian rumors [about Sarah Palin]. But that would only give lesbian's[sic] a bad name and I wouldn't want to do that. [...]
PermalinkNote: While 256 other comments were being reviewed by HuffPost prior to publication, it decided that this one, calling Sarah Palin a lesbian, was perfectly appropriate:
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
tulsey
725 Fans
"Miss me?" Totally inapropriate[sic] target aquisition[sic] NRA joke. Just reload.
Permalinkblueheronwv
10 Fans
Maybe there'll be a bus crash.
Permalink
That's just a small sampling. Want more? Take a look at the thread for yourself. We captured more comments that are similar to these, but this will suffice to show the level of depraved hatred and death wishes that HuffPost incited, and enabled to be unleashed against Sarah Palin, over its latest false allegations against her.
Also, note how many Moderators and users have up to or more than 1,000 "fans" --- meaning HuffPost has been enabling them for a very, very long time --- while at the same time, censoring and fast-banning users who attempt to speak out against or complain about them, as documented here, here and here.
(5) Is this the first time HuffPost has outright lied about Sarah Palin, in a way that could only serve to incite radical leftist hate (and death wishes) against her --- which it then violated its own rules, to facilitate?
Nope --- and here's the proof.
Incident 1: HuffPost falsely claimed that Sarah Palin wants those on the No-Fly List to be able to buy guns:
The reality: Sarah Palin never said or even insinuated that. Period.
Why HuffPost knew, or should have known the story was false/misleading: Sarah Palin isn't mentioned once in either the headline or story excerpt (the original story was published by "ThinkProgress," the Soros-funded leftist attack machine).
This false headline incited a torrent of hate-filled user comments against Gov. Palin, which HuffPost reviewed, approved and decided to publish.
See complete documentation of this incident here.
Incident 2: HuffPost falsely insinuated that Sarah Palin (and conservatives) incited the shooter in the Tucson massacre in January 2011.
On January 14, 2011, HuffPost began its nonstop coverage
of the Gabby Giffords shooting. We documented in extreme detail the lengths to which HuffPost went to construct a false narrative that implicitly blamed Sarah Palin and conservatives for inciting the shooter --- even though the bulk of the evidence that emerged within hours of the event that pointed in the opposite direction. We further documented the fact that as this evidence became more widely known in the conservative blogosphere, HuffPost redoubled its efforts to keep its readers from becoming aware of it, while continuing to imply that Sarah Palin was somehow responsible. See:
These are just several of dozens of incidents in which HuffPost knowingly published false or egregiously misleading headlines that could only serve to incite hate against Sarah Palin and other conservatives.
Commentary
Why is this all so serious? Because HuffPost is the #1 most-read blog on Earth, a top-ten U.S. “news” site, and has repeatedly claimed to be "nonpartisan" --- a key reason why it has been able to attract advertising from some of the the biggest corporations in the world.
In short, HuffPost is helping to shape public perceptions. And it is deliberately, maliciously creating false, inflammatory perceptions --- and not just about Sarah Palin, or conservatives, or the Tea Party.
Have you ever seen a picture of Arianna
Huffington with American soldiers? You haven't, and you probably never will. Why?Because thanks to HUFF-WATCH, a growing number of our service members have become aware of the fact that HuffPost is now the Western world's largest Internet-based inciter and facilitator of hate against the U.S. military. Specifically, as our extensive documentation shows:
- HuffPost regularly publishes inflammatory libels against American soldiers, based on falsehoods and without proof, that serve as exactly the kind of provocation that militant Islamists use to justify attacks on them.
- HuffPost routinely fails/refuses to publish the truth behind these libels as it emerges --- even when its "friends," such as Stephen Colbert, rise to defend our soldiers by establishing the truth.
- HuffPost pathologically violates its own comment policy to allow cyberjihadis and long-term, protected radical leftists to hurl venomous libels at U.S. soldiers, such as that "they are stupid... mercenaries," and fallen soldiers "got just what they deserved," and similar, and worse.
This is all especially dangerous as HuffPost now has 700,000* unique monthly visitors who originate in Muslim-majority nations --- including 250,000 per month from the world's three primary incubators and exporters of Islamist terror: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan. (*up from 350,000 six months ago).
So we found it especially ironic that HuffPost would
choose to smear Sarah Palin, once again, on Memorial Day weekend, for something she hadn't done, when she --- unlike Arianna Huffington:(a) Has a son serving in the U.S. military in the Middle East
(b) Has traveled to visit our soldiers in faraway locations, where she has been consistently greeted with respect and appreciation
(c) Has consistently and enthusiastically spoken in support of our soldiers
May 31 update: Arianna Huffington devotes her "Memorial Day" essay to a discussion of herself, and her honorary degree, and nonsense... but without a single word about our soldiers. None.
Arianna's Memorial Day essay has absolutely no reference to our soldiers, no reference to their sacrifices, and no reference to those who've been killed, who've died to to ensure her ability to maliciously libel them as she does. Like the narcissist she is, her essay was focused almost entirely on (surprise!)... Arianna. This isn't the first time we've pointed out her stomach-churning hypocrisy in regards to the U.S. military. See:
Want to "give back" to U.S. soldiers, Arianna? Stop libeling and dishonoring them
ACTION ITEMS
Americans of good will can have honest differences of opinion about Sarah Palin --- just as they do about President Obama. What most Americans find intolerable, however, is (a) outright lying, and (b) inciting hate against others based on false, inflammatory allegations.
If you share our view that HuffPost's actions in regards to this story (and the U.S. military) are outrageous, we urge you to do three things:
(1) Make your voice known to HuffPost's senior management here
(2) Consider writing or calling one or more of HuffPost's top advertisers, to let them know your thoughts on what their ad dollars are enabling --- particularly its incitement of hate against the U.S. military.
An easy way to approach this is to scan our easy-to-use directory and find one or two corporations that you are a customer of, or have stock in. Your concerns will automatically be given considerably more weight. Also, request a follow-up after they've had a chance to review the evidence; don't let them off the hook, or sweep this under the rug.
(3) Forward the link to this story along to friends and journalists who you think might be interested in learning what HuffPost really is, and does.
Notable Quotables:
AOL's acquisition of HuffPost "has allowed us... to continue to change the culture here."
When asked directly if the Huffington Post would have a politically left-wing influence on AOL, Huffington responded, “Of course not.”
- Arianna Huffington to the Daily Caller, February 9, 2011,
--- Tim Armstrong, Chairman, AOL, May 14, 2011 (the genius who decided to purchase HuffPost, the Internet's #1 hate site, for $315 million, and make Arianna the President and Editor In Chief of all AOL's "content")
.
Posts
