Leftist and liberal media outlets for several years already have promoted their “fact-check” procedures as accurate sources of the truth.
Many who have followed their comments know them as no more or less than forums for leftist talking points.
Now that’s suddenly become obvious, as an Associated Press “fact-check” of a critical race theory opponent turned out to be blatantly wrong.
It started when CRT critic Christopher Rufo blasted the National School Boards Association for its request to the Biden administration for the FBI to label school board protests as “domestic terrorism.”
On social media, he said, “The National School Boards Association asked the feds to crack down on anti-critical race theory protests as ‘domestic terrorism,'” according to Fox News.
The AP immediately “corrected” him, claiming that “contrary to false claims circulating online, the National School Boards Association didn’t ask President Joe Biden to label protesting parents ‘domestic terrorists,’ and there’s no indication Biden or the Justice Department called them terrorists, either.”
Contrary to false claims circulating online, the National School Boards Association didn’t ask President Joe Biden to label protesting parents “domestic terrorists,” and there’s no indication Biden or the Justice Department called them terrorists, either. https://t.co/kVflaQKHme
— AP Fact Check (@APFactCheck) October 6, 2021
But wait, protested Rufo, they did.
He pointed out that the AP claims his report was “misinformation” is debunked “by the NSBA letter itself, which asks the administration to classify parent protests as ‘a form of domestic terrorism’ and recommends prosecution under the ‘PATRIOT Act.'”
The AP claims that my report about the NSBA is “misinformation.”
But their “fact check” is easily debunked by the NSBA letter itself, which asks the administration to classify parent protests as “a form of domestic terrorism” and recommends prosecution under the “PATRIOT Act.” pic.twitter.com/W4kg71BQcB
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 6, 2021
Fox reported, “The request from the NSBA specifically wrote ‘As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.'”
The NSBA also wants the DOJ to consider opposing “these crimes and acts of violence under the Gun-Free School Zones Act, the PATRIOT Act in regards to domestic terrorism.”
Rufo also pointed out AP’s reporter didn’t bother contacting him.
“It’s time for AP ‘fact checking’ editor @KarenMahabir to retract the story for its obvious bias and falsehood,” Rufo said.
The reporter reached out to the NSBA for comment, but did not reach out to me for comment, which is a violation of basic journalistic ethics and practices.
It’s time for AP “fact checking” editor @KarenMahabir to retract the story for its obvious bias and falsehood.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 6, 2021
Others on social media immediately branded AP as “liar.”
And others took the route of poking fun.
One commenter said, “Fun fact: ‘AP’ stands for ‘Activist Progressives.'”
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
