For Immediate Release
December 10, 2009
Contact: Brandon Hatler --
DumpGlennBeck@gmail.com
DefendGlenn.com
Issues Public Apology for False Statements Made About ColorOfChange.org
During Group's Beck Campaign
Glenn Beck
Support Website Admits 'Erroneous' Accusations, Apologizes;
DefendGlenn.com
to Post Full Retraction of Claims on Homepage for Seven Weeks
OAKLAND, Calif. -- DefendGlenn.com,
the website created and dedicated to supporting controversial Fox News
personality Glenn Beck, today issued a public retraction of several
erroneous statements it made regarding civil rights organization ColorOfChange.org.
The site has posted the retraction on its home page -- www.DefendGlenn.com -- and, per an agreement, must keep
it there for seven full weeks. <
"We understood that by taking
a stand against someone as divisive as Glenn Beck, we were going to
encounter some very public opposition," said James Rucker, executive
director of ColorOfChange.org. "It's not surprising that Beck's
chief defenders are as reckless with the truth as he is. Since
our campaign began, Beck has avoided mentioning our organization publicly,
but DefendGlenn.com has repeatedly attacked us with false accusations
designed to tarnish our reputation. We are heartened that DefendGlenn.com
and its creators have finally apologized for their actions and taken
responsibility for the false information they published as fact.
We hope that this is the last time they will have to issue such a retraction."
DefendGlenn.com was created
in the wake of ColorOfChange.org's campaign earlier this year to urge
advertisers to pull their ads from the Glenn Beck show on Fox News Channel.
That campaign was incredibly successful, with over 80 advertisers --
including all of the show's mainstream brands -- dropping their support
for the show. The DefendGlenn.com website was used as a tool by Beck
supporters to fire back at ColorOfChange.org and advertisers who deserted
the show.
Unfortunately, DefendGlenn.com
resorted to making false claims and fear mongering. Once ColorOfChange.org
confronted the site's backers regarding the legal ramifications
of these claims, DefendGlenn.com agreed to publicly apologize for them,
admit they were false and issue a clarification.
DefendGlenn.com is a project
of the United States Justice Foundation, which is run by Gary Kreep.
Kreep currently serves as general counsel to the anti-immigration group
The Minutemen, has represented members of radical groups such as Operation
Rescue, and has been affiliated with the "birther" movement.
The full retraction, which
will remain on the homepage of DefendGlenn.com for seven weeks, is below:
DefendGlenn.com
on several occasions inaccurately reported that Color of Change called
President Bush a "racist". We have confirmed that Color of
Change did not, in fact, call George Bush a "racist" on its
website and although we picked up that allegation from another website
(NewsMax.com), that allegation is false and we apologize to Color of
Change for this error.
We
also accused Color of Change of lying regarding it's [sic] claims that
certain advertisers agreed to stop advertising on Glenn Beck. While
our previous comments were partially correct on the matter concerning
the claims of Color of Change regarding the initial 20 advertisers,
upon review, it appears that the accusation of lying was inaccurate.
In at least one instance, DefendGlenn.com and Color of Change were given
diametrically opposing statements by the same advertiser, and, in other
instances, the statements given by the advertisers were consistent,
but open to interpretation. It is now our understanding that Color
of Change accurately reported on it's [sic] web site and in its press
releases precisely what each of the advertisers told it. DefendGlenn.com
also accurately reported on its website precisely what each advertiser
told it. We apologize to Color of Change for erroneously accusing them
of lying and have removed all such allegations from our website.
We
have also alleged that Kayne West claimed that George Bush 'gave troops
permission to go down (to New Orleans) and shoot us (black people) after
Hurricane Katrina' and that Color of Change endorsed that hateful statement
by selling T shirts that said "Kanye Was Right". We have since
learned that Mr. West was apparently referring to Louisiana Governor
Kathleen Blanco's authorization for troops to fire on the people of
New Orleans during Katrina and not [sic] President Bush never gave such
an order. A representative of Color of Change has informed us that the
t shirts they are selling refer instead to Kanye West's much more widely
publicized comment that George Bush "doesn't care about black people."
We accept their representation in this regard and apologize for any
misunderstanding that this has caused.
ColorOfChange.org launched
its campaign against Beck in late July after the Fox News Channel host
called President Obama a "racist" who "has a deep-seated hatred
for white people" during an appearance on Fox & Friends. The group
called on its members to sign a petition urging companies who advertise
on Glenn Beck to cut off their advertising support of his work. To date,
over 285,000 people have signed the petition and over 80 companies have
stopped their ads from appearing during Glenn Beck's show.
With more than 600,000 members,
ColorOfChange.org is the largest African-American online political organization
in the country.
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