The SPLC Effect

One thing that helps push fake news out into the information ecosystem is the proliferation of 501(c)(3) organizations. They are cited as moral authority to boost the credibility of reported news. You know the effect has achieved singularity when C-SPAN covers an SPLC news conference on fake hate crimes, and then hosts the video on their web site.

SPLC founder Morris Dees is in the direct marketing Hall of Fame because he knows how to push worthless crap.

This appeal to authority is everywhere you look. NBC ran a story linking Sebastian Gorka to Vitezi Rend because Gorka wore his father's medal to an inauguration event. For added credibility, NBC quoted the Anne Frank Center For Mutual Respect.

The Anne Frank Center is a political operation that is doing little but "harming the true Anne Frank legacy and heritage," according to Alan Dershowitz.

The American Civil Liberties Union is yet another example of a partisan group that people in the media run to whenever they need the veneer of moral authority. And with more than one million Twitter followers and more than two million Facebook followers, it's hard to think of one with a broader reach.

There is a story in the ACLU's timeline about a "journalist" who was arrested for asking questions about the AHCA to HHS Secretary Tom Price.

The arrest of a journalist in West Virginia came against the backdrop of a sustained attack on the media. https://t.co/9vMPMSz0HU

— ACLU National (@ACLU) May 11, 2017

Dan Heyman is a veteran reporter with Public News Service. Go to their website and ask yourself whether they are a partisan news chop shop or, in their words, providing News In The Public Interest.

Looking at this picture of Heyman being detained, don't you get the impression that he might be slightly unbalanced?

ACLU might be concerned about a "sustained attack on the media," but Capitol Police are cognizant of protesters crossing boundaries, such as the woman who followed her representative home and tried to run him off the road.

But let's give Heyman the benefit of the doubt. What question was he shouting at Secretary Price and Kellyanne Conway? He pressed them to answer whether domestic violence would be considered a preexisting condition under the AHCA. As a veteran reporter, how could Heyman not be aware that Politifact rated that nonsense false a week ago?

But the biggest problem I have with Heyman's version of the events is omitted from the ACLU report. The Washington Post reported that he held up an iPhone and recorded the entire encounter. He has not provided video, but he did provide audio to WaPo.

A male voice instructs Heyman, "Do not get close to her. Back up." It sounds like the ACLU deliberately omitted the most important part, the probable cause for his arrest.

Why does the ACLU hate Kellyanne Conway so much?