Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily will almost never admit to be suckers after promoting a story that proves to be false -- normally, it just stops reporting on it and refuses to correct the record. We saw it when WND promoted claims that the murder of a Coptic Christian family was done by Muslims; when it turned out to have perpetrated by non-Muslims as part of a robbery, WND stopped reporting on it and did not apologize for falsely impugning Muslims.
More recently, we saw it in WND's attacks on Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, from promoting lurid but never-verified sex claims made by an obviously unreliable person to touting the claim by purported "news agency" African Press International that it had a tape of Michelle Obama berating WND's attacks on her husband, even though a cursory examination of API before publication -- which WND clearly failed to do -- would have shown API's claims to be highly illogical at best and utterly false at worst. As API continued its refusal to make its purported tape public, WND did eventually indirectly cast doubt on API's claims but merely dropped the story instead of following up with any sort of investigation of the truth behind API or apologizing for choosing to be suckered.
We will likely see the same behavior from WND with the Obama birth certificate story, as the bogus claims it has forwarded crumble under the weight of the truth.
The latest blow to WND's credibility is an April 17 FrontPageMag article by Andrew Walden likening the birthers to 9/11 conspiracists. Walden (who has gone after the birthers before, only to claim a new conspiracy that right-wing obsession over the birth certificate is just what Obama wants) curiously pulls a couple of punches here: He links to numerous WND articles but fails to mention WND by name as arguably the chief promoter of the birth certificate conspiracy. Walden also notes Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid's statement at CPAC that "Back during hate 1980s, at least we knew that our president was born in the United States," though without actually naming Kincaid.
He makes up for that, though, by reminding people of what an anti-Semitic loon Andy Martin is (as we've noted, WND's Jerome Corsi is regurgitating some of Martin's claims on Obama's birth) and rightly denounces Philip Berg as a 9/11 conspiracy-monger. He even takes a swipe at far-right radio host Alex Jones (on whose show Corsi has appeared), dismissing his "built-in audience of drug-addled losers."
More importantly, Walden shoots down a number of claims that WND has forwarded. Linking to a March 24 WND article by Bob Unruh claiming that "While [Obama's] supporters cite an online version of a 'Certification of Live Birth' from Hawaii, critics point out such documents actually were issued for children not born in the state," responding:
The problem here is that Hawaii does not provide a Certification of Live Birth stating that children born outside of Hawaii were actually born inside Hawaii.
[...]
Obama's birth certificate clearly states he was born in Honolulu. If Hawaii were providing Certification of Live U.S. Birth to persons born outside the U.S. the State would be illegally providing U.S. citizenship to non-citizens. How did all these self-appointed defenders of the Constitution miss something so very obvious?
Walden further adds:
Contrary to birther lies, Obama's Certification of Live Birth from the State of Hawaii, whcih shows that he was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961 at 7:24 PM, is thet same document that anyone born inHawaii shows when applying for a drivers' license, soecial security card, passport, or security clearance. AIt was also accepted as valid by the election officials of the 50 states.
Walden also effectively shoots down Orly Taitz's attacks on Obama and the attention Taitz's role in the birther conpsiracy has received from supermarket tabloid the Globe:
Readers interested in celebrity gossip are an ideal audience for conspiracists. Sadly the Globe reports she has convinced an Army Lieutenant from Tennessee to throw away his military career on birther nonsense and claims to be on the verge of recruiting others.
[...]
Complains Taitz: “the courts stated that ordinary citizens have no standing to challenge Obama..."
Embarrassingly for those birthers who claim to be "upholding the U.S. Constitution -- Article II, Section 1 explains that "ordinary citizens" do not elect the President of the United States. The vorters of each state determine who will represent their state as electors in the Electoral College.
Walden also takes a swipe at "Ron Polarik," who purports to demonstrate the birth certificate released by Obama's campaign is fake. Last December, WND's Unruh uncritically reported Polarik's claims, ignoring the irony of demands for documentation coming from someone who is hiding behind a pseudonym. Unruh helpfully noted that "WND verified that he is not misrepresenting his credentials or expertise."
WND has a history of ignoring or refusing to provide truthful responses when its claims about Obama's birth certificate are challenged. Look for Joseph Farah and crew to ignore Walden as well.
