This Wednesday, I reported that the media were falsely reporting that Chick-fil-A had decided to cease donations to “anti-gay” groups. Scores of so-called reputable news outlets like the Los Angeles Times and ABC News ran headlines declaring that Chick-fil-A had changed its policy toward giving to anti-gay groups. Yesterday, Chick-fil-A set the record straight, saying that their corporate giving has been “mischaracterized” and calling out “events from Chicago this week that have once again resulted in questions around our giving”:
A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-fil-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. We will continue to focus our giving in those areas. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.
The lack of due diligence from reporters like the LA Times’s Tiffany Hsu led to scores more erroneous headlines, as articles like hers were then picked up by affiliates like the Denver Post and spread around the country.
On Wednesday, I pointed out that all of these headlines seemed to be taking one group’s press release–the Civil Rights Agenda–along with Alderman Moreno’s comments in a Chicago Tribune article about a letter he received from the company, and printing them without checking their validity against the actual documents.
I did fact-check Alderman Moreno and the Civil Rights Agenda’s press release on Wednesday. And when I did, I determined that, at best, we had no way to corroborate what they were saying; at worst, they were falsifying and spinning what was, in fact, no change whatsoever from Chick-fil-A’s original corporate giving policy. The actual quote from the letter to Alderman Moreno:
The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas.
Alderman Moreno has once again thrust a company, one that wished to open in his ward and provide employment to his constituents, into the spotlight for his own personal gain. When will Alderman Moreno, and the woefully inattentive media that backs him up, be held accountable for their casual manipulation and mischaracterization of a private company?
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Comments
“When will Alderman Moreno, and the woefully inattentive media that backs him up, be held accountable for their casual manipulation and mischaracterization of a private company?”
By the lazy Collectivists who elected Moreno, and are willing dupes of their Mushroom Media…???
Never. But if Moreno pushes this, he WILL be held accountable in court.
And Leno takes it up, saying Chick-fil-A has relented finally (of their stupid and wicked ways) and now say people can put whatever they want between their buns, etc. That is the only news many people will get on the subject.
Cool with me. Low information but PC boobs will think it is OK now to buy chik-in sammaches again! I tote that up as a win.
Well, there’s that, maybe.
But I was thinking of those that were glad to hear they took a stand, but sad to hear (wrongly) they backed down. And same for those that are glad and encouraged that these boycotts work.
This is the left declaring another victory over free speech and Christian expression. That’s the wrong and a false message. There seem to be a majority of low info boobs that can be squeezed into PC opinions.
I say let them wallow in their crapulance, especially since there is nothing I can do to fix it at the moment.
Longer view requires me to work hard at education. Call it “the smart man’s burden”…
Thank you, prof, for keeping me informed on this. Even Leno got it wrong last night during his monologue. My husband started to be very disappointed, but I told him, thanks to your earlier article, to hold on, and let’s hear from the company itself.
Now, another Christian-owned company, Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby, is being boycotted for its stand against ObamaCare.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/20/growing-boycott-against-retail-chain-hobby-lobby-after-lawsuit-against-health/
Maybe a Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day is in the near future?
And thank you, Anne! Good work!
Anne wrote the blog entry
NYU is shamefully politicizing the two famous hawks that nest and perch on the campus. Each of the hawks has a Twitter account, one @RosietheHawk and the other @PipTheHawk. Read one of the despicable and hateful tweets they’ve concocted for their fine feathered friends to “say”. If I were Pip or Rosie, I’d beak the noses off the wordsmith, then poop all over his head.
@PipTheHawk
Hate begets hate. NYU must remove ChickfilBigot from campus #NYTHawkCam #ChickfilA #SQWAAAAAk
Washington Square Park
For me there could be good news – the more these efforts to boycott companies based on their public support for anything non-progressive (practically) fail, the better for free speech and for freedoms. Sure, some companies respond on the advice of their PR agents, but as best I can tell, there is increasing evidence that companies can resist the thuggish threats and survive. I don’t watch each and every one in detail, but it seems these are completely ineffective whenever a company holds out. Not true? True?
[…] They twist facts and make up stories out of whole cloth. (UPDATE: Exhibit A.) […]
As these Leninist Lefties are totally incapable of being creative ,I suspect Hobby Lobby has little to fear.
The 12th of never?
“Fires back?” The statement is ambiguous. The questions, “Has Chick-Fil-A changed its giving?” “Does Chick-Fil-A plan to change its giving?” are “yes” and “no” questions.
What this shows is that despite the slight “walkback” of the pronouncements that their city would actively oppose Chick-Fil-A expansion based solely on the religious/political view of its operators, this is what they wanted to accomplish the Constitution be damned.
Maybe Moreno’s attorney told him to shut the you-know-what up. So now Moreno’s trying to save face with his “constituents” – the ones pulling his chain.
Don’t count me among the Happy-Happy at this point. I smell spin from both sides.
I want to see Chick-Fil-A’s list of charities before this blew up and I want to see them now and in a year from now. I want to see which ones were deleted and which ones have been kept.
Hold Chick-Fil-A’s feet to the fire on this, folks. Be very careful here.
[…] to cease donations to “anti-gay” groups,” consumer research specialist Anne Sorock today retraces the week’s full sequence of events. It’s not […]
[…] » Chick-fil-A fires back at media’s mischaracterization of their giving – Le·gal In·sur·… […]
Told you so:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/23/us/chick-fil-a-controversy/
Now, let’s go ask Chick-Fil-A for a list of specific charities and amounts they have given in the past and for amounts they will give in the future. And which charities have they deleted from their list.
Because until that list shows up, it’s all spin. Including by Chick-Fil-A.