Media Matters Offers Pitiful 'Gotcha' on Planned Parenthood Video; Unwittingly Destroys Their Own Spin

With the over-the-top headline: “Why Is Live Action Doctoring Its Planned Parenthood Audio?“, Media Matters of America has offered its readers (all the content producers at MSNBC and network news) a pitiful story meant to plant the idea that the devastatingly effective investigative videos produced by Live Action are in some way bogus. But, in turn, the “gotcha” that MMFA purports to have discovered actually undermines their own spin and talking points they have been peddling the last couple of days. It also serves to bolster Live Action’s credibility, not diminish it. Nice work, Senior Fellows.

First, let’s follow the timeline on this:

When the videos first hit on Tuesday showing Live Action’s undercover investigation of a New Jersey Planned Parenthood office, Media Matters response was that Planned Parenthood had done nothing wrong. Media Matters even went so far as to call the videos “Hoax Videos.” They held on to that story for the entire day, until Planned Parenthood undermined it just a bit by firing the employee who was featured in the video. If Media Matters was trying to help Planned Parenthood, they did a lousy job. Because now, thanks to them, the sacked employee has some pretty good evidence for her wrongful termination lawsuit. After all, it was widely reported that the Live Action videos showed no wrong-doing, so why was she fired?

Next, Media Matters claimed that the subsequent videos from Virginia were a bust and tells its readers that the Virginia investigation merely turned up Planned Parenthood employees who were professionally offering advice on contraception and STD prevention. They don’t spend much time detailing the part of the video that shows an actor describing himself as being a “sex worker” with several young, underage girls that he “manages.” As that conversation continues, the actor learns that he can easily acquire all forms of contraception for his exploited, minor sex slaves. The only drawback seems to be that in Virginia an underage girl can’t get an abortion without consent. Media Matters leaves out the part where the actor learns that the “morning after pill” is obtained through a prescription and, according to the Planned Parenthood staffer, the underage girls can get that without ID.

Believe it or not, Media Matters talking points weren’t getting very far in the main stream media. Most television reports, except for ABC News who has a history of following MMFA’s marching orders, were not buying into the pathetic spin that Media Matters was offering up.

So today, in a laughable act of desperation, MMFA ran with the banner headline accusing Live Action of “doctoring” the tapes. Quite a charge, isn’t it? Makes one think that everything we saw on those videos were done through some green-screen CGI trick or maybe claymation or even supermarionation. No such luck.

The “doctored video” that Media Matters has plastered on its front page in red does not alter the content of the Live Action video investigation in any way whatsoever. In fact, Media Matters has unwittingly ruined their own spin and talking points with this latest claim.

Let me explain.

According to Media Matters, audio from one part of the investigation was dubbed onto another part to make it appear that the conversation the viewer is witnessing is different than what actually happened. Or, in the words of Media Matters:

Go to the portion of the video where the camera’s timestamp reads “10:32:58” (frame number 21125). The “pimp” asks how they could “set up” an abortion for a “15 year old.” From off-screen, the employee apparently asks, “Well, I mean the judicial bypass?” The employee apparently goes on to explain the process….

Now look at what Live Action says is the “full” 14-minute video of the Richmond encounter. Again, go to the portion of the video where the camera’s time stamp reads “10:32:58” (frame number 21125). This time, the audio is different; the employee appears to be discussing the cost of birth control and STD screenings.

[youtube o5nL2j2B9W0 nolink]

According to Media Matters, when editing the 14-minutes of raw footage into a 7-minute presentation, Live Action put audio from one section over the video of another section (the video in question merely shows a wall and a person’s hand). But notice something in their claim, they make no assertion that this edit has altered in any way the content or the results of the videos. They make no assertion that the viewer has been misled to believe one story when, in fact, the opposite is true.

No, all Media Matters does in their attack is plant the seed of doubt in the viewer’s head that if Live Action made this edit, then they are probably lying about everything. A ridiculous conclusion on its face, but, even more ridiculous when you remember that just yesterday Media Matters claimed that this video showed absolutely no wrong-doing!

Think this through for a minute (the folks at Media Matters clearly didn’t): Yesterday, they told you this video showed no wrong-doing, today they say that the video was doctored to fool you. Fool you into thinking what? According to Media Matters the videos exonerate Planned Parenthood. How stupid does Media Matters think their readers are?

This latest pathetic “gotcha” that wasn’t also provides one other unintended consequence for Media Matters. It bolsters Live Action’s credibility. After all, MMFA would never have discovered this “video doctoring” if Live Action had not released the full, unedited video to the public. If Live Action had in some way doctored the videos to mislead the public, then why on earth would they have released the full tapes? They wouldn’t have. Live Action has nothing to hide.

But, Media Matters does. They organized a conference call for left-wing organizations, bloggers, and Planned Parenthood yesterday afternoon so that everyone could get their spin straight. This is public knowledge now, but they have not released the participants in that call. Why not? Are their members of the main stream press on the list? Live Action has operated in the realm of transparency, now it’s Media Matters’ turn.

We call on Media Matters to release the names of the conference call participants. After all, if Media Matters is hiding the names of their conference call from you, what else are they hiding from you?

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