Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News owed apology.
Nov. 17, 2016, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement condemning the Anti-Defamation League for finally revealing that “we are not aware of any anti-Semitic statements made by [Stephen] Bannon” four days after smearing Bannon as “a man who presided over the premier website of the Alt Right, a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists”:
“The Anti-Defamation League has engaged in the most partisan libelous smear campaign imaginable against Stephen Bannon based on their own political prejudices and bias. One would expect ADL to actually look at the record prior to defaming someone who has proven to not only not be an anti-Semite, but to be a true friend of Israel. After four days of obscene character assassination of Bannon and Breitbart News, ADL has been forced to admit that there is no evidence that Bannon has ever made any anti-Semitic comments. This should provide a cautionary tale for the media that all too often engages in ready, fire, aim narratives unsupported by facts when talking about people they disagree with.
“Everyone in the media who reported this without first checking and ADL in particular owe Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News a front-page apology for their reckless political smear job.
“It is absolutely fair to have a public policy discussion based upon real statements and positions taken by public figures. But this discourse is destroyed by the left’s continued insistence that anyone who disagrees with them is by definition a racist, bigot, anti-Semitic, white supremacist. At a time when the entire media needs to engage in thorough self-examination to determine how they got so far off course, these false attacks on Bannon serve as the prosecution’s Exhibit A in exposing that the left is composed of nothing more than hacks undeserving of the moniker news.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.
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