Media Matters Deceives Reporters about Washington Post Anti-Sarah Palin Campaign

Democratic party front group Media Matters for America responded with typical vomit-slurping gusto in its response Sunday to Big Journalism’s report on the Washington Post crossing the line from journalism to partisan political action by orchestrating a viral Twitter campaign against Sarah Palin.

Writing at the County Fair blog section of Media Matters, blogger Eric Boehlert ignored the subject of the article as spelled out in the lede, “The Washington Post is engaging in online political activism by encouraging its readers to boycott news coverage of Sarah Palin.”

Anti-Palin logo by The Washington Post

Instead, he typed a fallacious article that claimed the subject was a complaint that Palin would not be covered by the Post: “Palin Bloggers Now Complaining She’s Not Getting Enough Coverage.”

Boehlert failed to inform his readers that the Post had made a radical correction to the wording of its anti-Palin Twitter campaign.

The Post made the changes after being contacted last Friday by Big Journalism.

As was reported previously, the Post launched a viral Twitter campaign to accompany columnist Dana Milbank’s Outlook section piece titled, “I’m Declaring February a Palin-Free Month. Join Me!”

Inlaid with Milbank’s article was a box that contained an anti-Palin logo with the following text:

Who’s with Milbank: Will you take the Palin Pledge?

Post columnist Dana Milbank has pledged not to write anything about Sarah Palin for a month. Would you pledge to not read or watch coverage of Palin for one month? Join Milbank by taking the Palin Pledge.

Clicking the link embedded at the end opened up a user’s Twitter page with an auto-fill message that said, “I’m making February a Palin-free month. Will you join me? http://wapo.st/eLSl3w”

After being confronted by Big Journalism that the messages placed the Post in the arena of political activism, the Post changed the text of the pitch to:

Dana Milbank asks: Will you take the Palin Pledge?

I, Dana Milbank, pledge to not write about Sarah Palin for a month. Will you pledge to not read or watch coverage of her? Join me in taking the Palin Pledge.

The Twitter message was also changed so it now reads:

@milbank is making February a Palin-free month. What do you think?”http://wapo.st/eLSl3w

However, the Post failed to change the original Twitter message embedded in the anti-Palin logo. Clicking the logo also opens a Twitter page with the auto-fill message:

I’m making February a Palin-free month. Will you join me?http://wapo.st/eLSl3w

The Post’s official Twitter account also promoted the anti-Palin viral campaign by using the hashtag #PalinFreeFeb on one of its Tweets promoting Milbank’s article sent on January 22nd:

washingtonpost @Milbank is declaring February a Palin-free month. Will you join him? http://wapo.st/gE4ghy #palinfreefeb

The day before, the Post’s official Twitter account sent this promotion without the hashtag:

Dana Milbank: I’m declaring February a Palin-free month. Join me, take the pledge! http://wapo.st/eLSl3w

There was also a third version of the viral anti-Palin Twitter message promulgated by the Post and Tweeted by readers. This one read:

I’m declaring February a Palin-free month. Join me!http://t.co/KXq1wA3 via @washingtonpost

Contrary to Boehlert’s claim, nowhere in the Big Journalism article is it stated that the Post itself will be boycotting news coverage of Palin. The article clearly states with supporting evidence, that the Post is organizing a boycott by readers based on Milbank’s opinion column.

Boehlert lays down a fog of snarky misdirection to point reporters away from what the Post itself acknowledged was a problem–the strong appearance of political activism by the Post:

Did I call this one or what?

Last week when sections of the GOP Noise Machine were whining that Sarah Palin was on the receiving end of too much press coverage — because reporters and pundits were somehow signaling their disdain for Palin by lavishing her with so much attention (they’re “obsessed”!) — I asked this question:

BTW, imagine the right-wing wailing if the press didn’t cover Palin?

Well, imagine no more. The crack staff at Andrew Breitbart’s Big Journalism is on the case. In a Herculean flip-flop, they are now wailing about how the Washington Post is threatening to not cover Palin!

Priceless.