Activism edition

One of the weirder quirks of the modern era of news reporting is this: “Disinformation” reporters are usually themselves the most prolific spreaders of “disinformation.”

Case in point: NBC News “disinformation” reporter Kevin Collier, who accused Republicans this week of spearheading a “homophobic” smear campaign against failed Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn. There’s nothing to back this claim, but a lack of proof has never stopped “disinformation” reporters from leveling wild and serious accusations against their political enemies.

DISINFORMATION INC: KEN BUCK PRESSES STATE DEPARTMENT ON GRANTS TO CONSERVATIVE GROUP

On March 7, Sohn withdrew her nomination to the FCC. Her decision came after a 16-month push by the Biden White House to seat a third Democratic commissioner on the board. This push included disastrous appearances by Sohn before congressional lawmakers, where she struggled to defend (or even explain) her long history of partisan remarks and activities, including her partnership with select left-wing advocacy groups, her Democratic activism, and the dozen campaign donations she made to Democratic senators even as her nomination to the FCC was pending.

Among the problems that dogged Sohn’s nomination was the time she negotiated a suspiciously favorable settlement for Locast, whose board she joined in March 2020. In the fall of 2021, a federal judge found the streaming service had engaged in the illegal piracy of broadband content. He awarded $32 million in statutory damages to the broadcasters. However, the day after President Joe Biden nominated Sohn to the FCC, she signed an agreement settling the lawsuit wherein the broadcasters, the same ones she would oversee as a member of the FCC, agreed to reduce the awarded amount from $32 million to just $700,000.

“Ms. Sohn then hid significant details about the settlement from this committee,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said. “She actively misled senators about the settlement’s dollar amount and her ability to share settlement information with the committee.

He added, “It’s clear why: it was a sweetheart settlement. … It was already improper that she executed a settlement with the broadcasters at the same time she was being nominated to the FCC.”

There is also the time Sohn attempted to sabotage a bipartisan compromise on a broadband deal.

Funnily enough, conservative legislators initially expressed approval for Sohn’s nomination, explaining her support for more diversity in broadcasting made her a strong candidate. However, as they got to know her and her long history of left-wing advocacy and shady business dealings, opposition to her nomination grew.

This included more than just the usual Republicans. In fact, Sohn’s fate was sealed when Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced his opposition.

Sohn is gay. So, of course, the usual suspects are crying “homophobia.”

“Confirming that consumer advocate Gigi Sohn has withdrawn her 20-month candidacy to join the FCC,” said NBC’s Collier. “She faced the most intense, bad-faith, and often outright homophobic campaign against a nominee in the agency’s history.”

To be clear, none of the legislators who opposed Sohn have ever made an issue of her sexuality. Not Cruz and not Manchin. Certain right-wing media groups have accused Sohn of being soft on anti-sex trafficking efforts. Sohn sits on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which strongly opposed legislation designed to protect sex trafficking victims, namely the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. The two bills, which created liabilities for anybody who “owns, manages, or operates an interactive computer service” or anyone who hosts third-party content that “promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person,” were combined into one. It passed the House on a 388-25 vote and the Senate on a 97-2 vote in 2018.

“Today is a dark day for the Internet,” the EFF said following the bill’s passage. “Congress just passed the Internet censorship bill SESTA/FOSTA.” The group added, “Sex workers have spoken out … explaining how online platforms have literally saved their lives. Why didn’t Congress consult with the people their bill would most directly affect?”

It’s apparently “homophobic” to notice EFF’s efforts to tank the legislation. It’s apparently “homophobic” to notice Sohn sits on the group’s board.

Anyway, for what it’s worth, the Log Cabin Republicans, which represents some 3 million LGBT Republicans, conservatives, and independents, published a letter in early February, arguing it’s certainly not “homophobic” to recognize Sohn as a bad candidate for the FCC gig.

“Since her initial nomination in 2021, it has become increasingly clear that Ms. Sohn’s partisan comments, alarming views on censorship, and questionable ethical judgment are incompatible with the cardinal principles and responsibilities of the FCC,” the group said in a statement. “[We] recognize that simply being LGBT is not a qualification and to suggest otherwise would be an insult to the qualified and capable LGBT people in various industries across the country.”

It adds: “Moreover, Sohn’s proponents do an incredible disservice to her and to the LGBT community when they accuse senators, who are raising completely legitimate concerns about her record, of ‘homophobia’ and ‘bigotry.’”

LGBT nominees must be “fairly measured on our merits, not our sexuality,” the statement continues. “Indeed, far more consequential than Ms. Sohn’s sexuality is her track record.”

The disinformation is coming from inside the house!

Free advertising

If there’s a fine line between “news reporting” and “advertisement,” and there is, the folks at Mississippi Public Broadcasting don’t seem to know where it is.

Mississippi Public Broadcasting, an outlet that is owned and operated by the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, which holds the licenses for all the NPR and PBS affiliates in the Magnolia State, published a “report” this month instructing audiences on how to acquire abortion pills. “These billboards want you to know how to get abortion pills — even if your state banned abortions,” reads the headline.

NPR itself hyped the story on social media this way: “Mobile billboards are visiting college campuses in 14 states with abortion bans carrying a reminder that abortion pills are still accessible all across the country.” The article’s opening lines read, “As Women’s History Month gets underway, mobile billboards are visiting college campuses in 14 states with abortion bans carrying a reminder that abortion pills are still accessible all across the country.”

“Mayday.Health,” it continues, “a nonprofit launched last year after legal abortions were heavily restricted or banned in 26 states, was created to provide information on where and how to safely order abortion pills. The traveling billboards are fitted with QR codes that direct people to resources specific to the state where they are hoping to have pills delivered.”

The story includes hyperlinks directing readers to the Mayday website as well as a list of 26 states where Mayday’s services are applicable. One wonders whether money traded hands in the production of this “news” article. The story also concludes with a comprehensive list of the cities and states Mayday plans to target in the coming weeks. And in case it wasn’t already clear that the story is an advertisement and not a news report, the article concludes with this line, “Visit Mayday.Health online or on Twitter and Instagram for more information.”

Again, the author provides hyperlinks directing readers to Mayday’s website as well as its Twitter and Instagram accounts.

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“This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR. Support for reproductive health coverage comes from The Commonwealth Fund,” the story’s footnote reads.

In other words, this story was brought to you in part by taxpayer dollars.

Becket Adams is a columnist for the Washington Examiner and National Review. He is also the program director of the National Journalism Center.