WND Denigrates Gay Activist As 'Promo-Homo'
Topic: WorldNetDaily

A May 10 WorldNetDaily article by Bob Unruh carries the headline "Promo-homo's case tossed out of court." No, really:

Unruh's article involves a defamation lawsuit filed by gay activist Wayne Besen against Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX). The lawsuit was dismissed because Besen was deemed a “public figure,” which raises the bar on proving malice in defamation lawsuits. But in Unruh's PFOX-friendly version of events, it was dismissed because Besen "admitted to 'self-aggrandizement' in court papers."

Unruh goes on to parrot PFOX's version of the story behind the lawsuit:

PFOX reported that the federal judge tossed out the lawsuit by Besen. The case was prompted by [PFOX president Greg] Quinlan’s statements “that Besen had been fired from the Human Rights Campaign and had uttered hateful rhetoric against Quinlan because he disagreed with Quinlan’s ex-gay sexual orientation.”

[...]

In the arguments raised by Besen, PFOX reported that “Besen once told Quinlan in a private conversation that someone should run him over with a bus or inject him with AIDS.”

(That ellipse jumps over an irrelevant five-paragraph digression about Dan Savage, who played no role whatsoever in this lawsuit.)

Besen's organization, Truth Wins Out, tells a much different version of events, pointing out that Quinlan had originally claimed that Besen said "statements to other people" about Quinlan, then changed his story "when confronted with TWO’s threat of a lawsuit." Quinlan never disclosed the date and location where the supposed "private conversation" between he and Besen occured, according to Truth Wins Out.

Regarding Quinlan's claimed that Besen was "fired from the Human Rights Campaign," TWO supplied a letter from the group refuting the claim. Quinlan's repeat of the false claim in a press release, TWO states, "set[s] the stage for another potential lawsuit." Unruh's uncritical cribbing from that press release may expose WND to legal action as well.

Not only doesn't Unruh care about the truth, WND demonstrates immaturity in mocking Besen. But then, WND has an editorial policy of hating gays and employs at least one commentator who wants them dead.