I am used to mainstream media reporters being dishonest, but it still never ceases to amaze me how little regard they have for truth or accuracy, and how eagerly they carry water for global terrorism and libel those whom they hate, knowing that their targets almost certainly do not have the time or resources to bring them to court. In this case, Doug Saunders and I had an acrimonious Twitter exchange several weeks ago, in which he made this same claim and I challenged him to quote me actually endorsing Putin’s approach toward Muslim minorities. He did not do so, because he couldn’t: watch the whole show to which he refers (video above), and you will see that never once do I discuss Putin’s approach to Muslim minorities, or anything close to it. But that didn’t stop Saunders from repeating this outright falsehood in Saturday’s Globe and Mail — in a story appropriately datelined Berlin:
“Vladimir Putin’s fifth column in the West,” by Doug Saunders, The Globe and Mail, June 7, 2014:
American anti-Muslim activist Robert Spencer made a point of appearing on the Russia Today network (shortly after most of its American staff had quit and denounced it as a Kremlin propaganda outlet) to attack the United States and endorse Mr. Putin’s approach toward Muslim minorities. “Barack Obama is somebody who has been embarrassed on the world stage by Vladimir Putin more than once,” Mr. Spencer said.
Note also another appearance of the “anti-Muslim” smear. Would Saunders have called opponents of the Nazis “anti-German”? (Probably.)
I have sent Saunders a note on Twitter requesting a public retraction. But I won’t be holding my breath. When you’re brazen enough to print the Big Lie, why retract it?