The now infamous “We’re Racist & Proud!” sign hoax to discredit demonstrators supporting George Zimmerman was thoroughly debunkedby an exclusive video interview Breitbart News released yesterday.
Thehoax began with vague and ambiguous reporting from the Houston Chroniclein regards to a picture of a protester holding a sign that during aJustice-for-Trayvon/New Black Panther Party protest. The New York Daily News‘ Philip Caulfieldthen distorted the Chronicle’s reporting and spun anarrative portraying the Houston paper’s report as directly identifyingthe sign bearer as a “Zimmerman supporter.”
A Democratic strategist,Tara Dowdell, then took to FOX News and asserted the false narrative as fact. Soon, the UK’s Daily Mail repeated the false reporting from the New York Daily News as fact to an international community.
The New York Daily News retracted the false claims after outcry resulting from theBreitbart video. Tara Dowdell initially tried to argue the issue via Twitter, but once thevideo of the interview was made available to her, she simply went silent. She did notacknowledge her error, nor did she apologize to Zimmerman supporters forthe smear she presented to millions of viewers on national television.
Breitbart News sent an email to the Daily Mail’s online editor (in additionto the numerous tweets from readers) informing them that theirsource, the New York Daily News, had since retracted the false claims. The Daily Mail did not respond; their story decrying the counter-protesters to the NBPP rally as racists is still available online.
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