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August 09, 2005
CNN to Run False Ad
How much is credibility worth?
NARAL has created an anti-John Roberts advertisement that contains false statements, and CNN has agreed to run it.
An abortion-rights group is running an attack ad accusing Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of filing legal papers “supporting . . . a convicted clinic bomber” and of having an ideology that “leads him to excuse violence against other Americans” It shows images of a bombed clinic in Birmingham , Alabama.Information from Factcheck.org. I don't know how much NARAL is paying for the advertisement, but CNN needs to reconsider running it. I know the advertising and editorial departments are separate, but CNN has a responsibility to maintain high standards in all aspects of its broadcast.The ad is false.
And the ad misleads when it says Roberts supported a clinic bomber. It is true that Roberts sided with the bomber and many other defendants in a civil case, but the case didn't deal with bombing at all. Roberts argued that abortion clinics who brought the suit had no right use an 1871 federal anti-discrimination statute against anti-abortion protesters who tried to blockade clinics. Eventually a 6-3 majority of the Supreme Court agreed, too. Roberts argued that blockades were already illegal under state law.
The images used in the ad are especially misleading. The pictures are of a clinic bombing that happened nearly seven years after Roberts signed the legal brief in question.
Could John Roberts have a libel case on its hands? Probably not, as he's a public figure. But the standard set under New York Times v. Sullivan is actual malice:
The Court held that the First Amendment protects the publication of all statements, even false ones, about the conduct of public officials except when statements are made with actual malice (with knowledge that they are false or in reckless disregard of their truth or falsity). Under this new standard, Sullivan's case collapsed.There is definitely malice in this case - NARAL wants to stop the Roberts nomination. It's been made clear that the statements in the advertisement are false, and NARAL and CNN are running the ad regardless.
This is not CNN's finest hour.
Posted by slublog at August 9, 2005 10:42 PM
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