ADF to Phoenix's 12 News, Arizona Republic: Retract defamatory stories, issue apology
Wednesday, Aug 16, 2017
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel and Director of Communications Kerri Kupec regarding the reliance of Phoenix NBC affiliate 12 News and The Arizona Republic on propaganda against ADF authored by the radical, left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center:
“12 News, an NBC affiliate, and The Arizona Republic have committed journalistic malpractice. In an Aug. 14 story entitled ‘What are Arizona’s hate groups?,’ 12 News correspondent William Pitts relied entirely on slanderous and scandalous accusations against Alliance Defending Freedom made by the Southern Poverty Law Center as the basis for his story. On the same day, Arizona Republic reporter Cydney Henderson essentially copied and pasted SPLC data distributed to Arizona media outlets.
“For both of these media outlets to malign ADF by parroting a false description from a radically partisan, violence-inciting organization like SPLC and call it ‘news’ is a discredit to their news organizations and to the journalistic profession.
“Further, these stories were recklessly ill-timed. Tuesday marked the five-year anniversary when would-be mass-murderer Floyd Lee Corkins entered the lobby of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., with the intent to kill as many employees as he was able. Corkins cited SPLC as his inspiration for his attempted-mass murder and was ultimately convicted of domestic terrorism.
“ADF is one of the most respected and successful Supreme Court advocates in the legal profession, having won seven cases at the high court in the last seven years. SPLC spends its time and money attacking veterans, nuns, Muslims who oppose terrorism, Catholics, Evangelicals, and anyone else who dares disagree with its far-left ideology. Meanwhile, ADF works every day to peacefully preserve and affirm free speech and the free exercise of religion for people from all walks of life and all backgrounds, because we believe freedom is for everyone.
“For the sake of its own integrity and the safety of Arizonans, 12 News and The Arizona Republic should issue an apology to ADF and retract their defamatory stories.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
“12 News, an NBC affiliate, and The Arizona Republic have committed journalistic malpractice. In an Aug. 14 story entitled ‘What are Arizona’s hate groups?,’ 12 News correspondent William Pitts relied entirely on slanderous and scandalous accusations against Alliance Defending Freedom made by the Southern Poverty Law Center as the basis for his story. On the same day, Arizona Republic reporter Cydney Henderson essentially copied and pasted SPLC data distributed to Arizona media outlets.
“For both of these media outlets to malign ADF by parroting a false description from a radically partisan, violence-inciting organization like SPLC and call it ‘news’ is a discredit to their news organizations and to the journalistic profession.
“Further, these stories were recklessly ill-timed. Tuesday marked the five-year anniversary when would-be mass-murderer Floyd Lee Corkins entered the lobby of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., with the intent to kill as many employees as he was able. Corkins cited SPLC as his inspiration for his attempted-mass murder and was ultimately convicted of domestic terrorism.
“ADF is one of the most respected and successful Supreme Court advocates in the legal profession, having won seven cases at the high court in the last seven years. SPLC spends its time and money attacking veterans, nuns, Muslims who oppose terrorism, Catholics, Evangelicals, and anyone else who dares disagree with its far-left ideology. Meanwhile, ADF works every day to peacefully preserve and affirm free speech and the free exercise of religion for people from all walks of life and all backgrounds, because we believe freedom is for everyone.
“For the sake of its own integrity and the safety of Arizonans, 12 News and The Arizona Republic should issue an apology to ADF and retract their defamatory stories.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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