Last night, the article “White Supremacists Love Trump’s New Hire” by “journalist” Andrew Lawrence at Media Matters contained this claim: “white nationalist think tank leader Robert Spencer lauded Bannon as someone whose website has shown ‘elective affinities’ for his ideas.”
This morning, it says: “white nationalist think tank leader Richard* Spencer lauded Bannon as someone whose website has shown ‘elective affinities’ for his ideas.” The asterisk leads to the small note at the end of the article: “*name corrected.”
That’s not good enough. The truth has just put on its shoes and the lie is already halfway around the world. Search for my name at Google, and the uncorrected story still comes up:
It is also on smaller sites that picked up the original Media Matters story.
So the damage has been done, and Media Matters knows it. Untold numbers of the Leftist lemmings who read their nonsense will believe that I run a “white nationalist think tank” and not revisit the story — and if they falsely attributed a quote to me, who knows how much else of what they put out is false?
Media Matters set out one task for itself: to set the record straight on supposed right-wing media distortions. It failed. This self-appointed media watchdog wouldn’t even pass Journalism 101. Getting the name right is basic journalism. In initially confusing Richard Spencer with Robert Spencer, these “media watchdogs” showed themselves to be shoddy, lazy, and incompetent. In changing their story without issuing a retraction and apology, they showed themselves to be dishonest, apparently content that the false story has circulated among many who will not see the change.
Just for the record, Media Matters: I don’t run a “white nationalist think tank.” That’s Richard Spencer. Nor was I ever married to Prince Charles. That was Lady Diana Spencer. Nor did I write The Faerie Queene. That was Edmund Spenser. Nor am I a Boston-based private detective played by Robert Urich. Watch for “journalist” Andrew Lawrence of Media Matters next week to identify KLM’s Spencer robot as the director of Jihad Watch. No matter — he was great in American Hustle, so he isn’t all bad. Oh no, wait…