Get Your Disinformation Vaccination

The media/ information abundance that permeates our lives makes it difficult to tell reality from fiction, especially when the motivation to spread disinformation permeates corporate and political interests. That's bad enough, but it seems there is a certain segment of society that seems to eagerly await the next chain e-mail so that they can help pass along the latest nugget of disinformation. I'm not sure what motivates this weird type of character, perhaps they are trying to fight the powers that be, but don't realize that they are inadvertently doing their bidding--for free!! More likely though, these poor characters are just disempowered people that feel a bit of power and control by helping to push along the elite's message.

Anyway, I would implore people that really desire to fight ignorance and disinformation to do a bit of research before slamming off the latest breathless headline from a chain e-mail or blog. Factcheck.org is a good starting point, as they are non-partisan, and usually on top of the issues du jour.

factcheck.org...

Also, The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics tracks campaign contributions OpenSecrets.org

I have provided a section of some of the more salacious and prevalent topics:

We are frequently asked several questions that we’ve answered already – particularly ones about chain e-mails. So before you send us your query, please scan this compilation of past Ask FactChecks and other reports. The answer you’re looking for may be right here.

Note: These are by no means our full responses. Click on the links to read the full articles. There is a lot more detail in each answer.

Is this chain e-mail true?
Probably not. In fact, that chain e-mail your friend sent to you is (likely) bogus. Seriously. (special report)
March 18, 2008

Isn’t there a law against false advertising in political ads?
No. Candidates have a legal right to lie to voters just about as much as they want. Here’s why. (special report)
June 3, 2004

Is there any truth in the e-mail claiming to give "a few highlights from the first 500 pages of the Healthcare bill"?
Barely. We examined all 48 claims, finding 26 of them to be false and 18 to be misleading, only partly true or half true. Only four are accurate.

Does the health care bill specifically exempt members of Congress and their staffs from its provisions?
No. This twisted claim is based on misrepresentations of the House and Senate bills, neither of which exempts lawmakers.
Jan. 20, 2010

Did Congress raise its own pay for 2010 while voting to deny an increase for Social Security recipients?
No. A chain e-mail calling for "retribution" in the fall elections makes false claims and uses fabricated figures.
Jan. 8, 2010

What’s up with "Columbo" and his questions for Obama?
The interrogator in a chain e-mail gets his facts fouled up and makes false accusations.
Jan. 18, 2010

Does the House energy bill subject owners of existing homes to an energy efficiency audit before they can sell?
Rep. Boehner and Rush Limbaugh got this wrong. The Realtors and home builders associations say there’s no such requirement in the bill, as do we.
July 20, 2009

Is the ACLU suing to have cross-shaped headstones removed from military cemeteries?
The ACLU has filed no such suit, and it hasn’t sued to "end prayer from the military" either.
July 5, 2009

Did Obama loan $2 billion to Brazil’s oil company to benefit China and George Soros?
The president had nothing to do with the loan, which the Export-Import Bank approved for Brazil to buy U.S.-made equipment and services.
September 18, 2009

Could somebody be imprisoned for not purchasing health insurance under the House health care bill?
Both House and Senate bills would levy a tax on persons who refuse to obtain coverage. Willfully evading that tax could result in jail time under the bill passed by the House – but not the bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee.
November 13, 2009

Did Obama accuse veterans of "selfishness" and whining? Would he have forced them to "pay for their war injuries"?
This chain e-mail contains fabricated quotes and misrepresents a budget idea that the White House scrapped.
May 12, 2009

Has a "smoking gun" been found to prove Obama was not born a U.S. citizen? Did he attend Occidental College on a scholarship for foreign students?
This chain e-mail is a transparent April Fools’ Day hoax. It fabricates an AP news story about an nonexistent group, and makes false claims about Obama and the Fulbright program.
May 7, 2009

Is Congress about to give Social Security to illegal immigrants?
No. Congress hasn’t voted on any measure to pay benefits to illegal immigrants, and has no plans for any such vote.
March 1, 2009
(This long-standing falsehood was bandied about back in 2006 and again during the 2008 presidential election.)

Was Obama born in the U.S.A.?
Yes. We give you the truth about Obama’s birth certificate.
Aug. 21, 2008
Updated Nov. 1, 2008

Is Congress going to require a federal license to own a handgun?
A Chicago congressman’s bill, H.R. 45, would require that, but it has little support. The same bill died quietly in a House subcommittee last year.
Feb. 22, 2009

Is there a connection between FactCheck.org and Barack Obama or Bill Ayers?
None, aside from benefiting at different times from the charity of the late publisher Walter Annenberg. We are a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania and get funding from the Annenberg Foundation, created by Walter Annenberg in 1989. Ayers was one of three Chicago educators who applied for a grant from the Annenberg Foundation in 1995, which was one of 5,200 grants the foundation made during its first 15 years. That $49 million grant, plus additional funds raised locally, funded the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which sought to improve Chicago public schools. Obama was selected by Chicago officials (not Ayers) to chair the board set up to administer Annenberg Challenge funds, and he headed it until 1999. FactCheck.org came into being in late 2003. For other details see our Oct. 10, 2008, article about Obama and Ayers, which includes a sidebar: "FactCheck.org and the ‘Annenberg Challenge.’ "

Did Pelosi advocate taxing "windfall" stock profits at 100%?
No. A widely circulated e-mail quoting her is a fraud.
Dec. 7, 2007

[edit on 1/30/2010 by skunknuts]

reply to post by skunknuts


Here's another good one:

factcheck.org...

Browse > Home / Ask FactCheck / Clueless “Columbo”
Clueless “Columbo”

January 18, 2010
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Q: What’s up with "Columbo" and his questions for Obama?

A: The interrogator in a chain e-mail gets his facts fouled up and makes false accusations.

FULL QUESTION:

Have you seen this one making the e-mail rounds? I’ve seen that you’ve disproven at least one or two items contained in this "Colombo" e-mailing. Can you debunk any of the rest on your Web site?

Thank you very much for your good work

Subject: Sorry to bother you

Remember Colombo?

Ah, sorry to bother you Mr. Obama, Sir. . …

Excuse me Mr. Obama, I mean President Obama, Sir. Um . . I know you’re busy, and important and stuff. I mean, running the country is very important and — ah — I hate to bother you, Sir. I will only take a minute. Ok, Sir?

See, I have these missing pieces that are holding me up, and I was wondering, Sir, if you could take time out of your busy schedule and help me out. You know, no big deal, just some loose ends and things.

⬐ Click to expand/collapse the full text ⬏
Hey, you have a nice place here! The wife sees houses like this on TV all the time and says, boy, she wishes she had digs like this, you know? Is that painting real? Really? Wow!
I saw something like that in a museum once.
Oh, sorry Sir. I didn’t mean to get off the track.

So if you could just help me out a minute and give me some details, I will get right out of your way. I want to close this case and maybe take the wife to Coney Island or something. Ever been to Coney Island Sir? No? I didn’t think so…

Well, listen, anyway, I can’t seem to get some information I need to wrap this up. These things seem to either be "Not released" or "Not available." I’m sure it’s just an oversight or glitch or something, so if you could you tell me where these things are I have them written down here somewhere — oh wait. I’ll just read it to you.

Could you please help me find these things, Sir?

1. Occidental College records — Not released
2. Columbia College records — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — "Not available"
4. Harvard College records — Not released
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — Not available
8. Your Illinois State Senate records — Not available
9. Law practice client list — Not released
10. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate — Not released
11. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth — Not released
12. Record of your baptism — Not available
13. Why your wife, Michelle, can no longer practice law as an attorney? (Insurance Fraud?)_
14. Why your wife has 22 assistants, when other First Ladies had one?
15. Why were you getting "foreign student aid" as a college student?
16. Which countries "passport" did you have when you visited Pakistan in 1981?

Oh and one more thing Mr. President, I can’t seem to find any articles you published as editor of the Harvard Law Review, or as a Professor at the University of Chicago. Can you explain that to me, Sir?

Oh, but hey — listen! I know you’re busy! If this is too much for you right now — I mean — tell you what. I’ll come back tomorrow. Give you some time to get these things together, you know? I mean, I know you’re busy. I’ll just let myself out. I’ll be back tomorrow. And the day after. . …
What’s that Mr. President? Who wants to know these things?
We the People of the United States of America! You know, the ones that vote.

FULL ANSWER:

In the old television series "Columbo," the rumpled Los Angeles police lieutenant played by actor Peter Falk solved crimes by asking penetrating questions based on his own keen eye both for evidence and for holes in the suspect’s story. But the fake "Columbo" in this widely forwarded message misstates facts and makes baseless insinuations.

Birth Baloney

Probing for some evidence that Obama perhaps isn’t actually a U.S. citizen, the fake detective asks "Why were you getting ‘foreign student aid’ as a college student?" But Obama got no such aid. That question repeats a claim made in an April Fools’ Day hoax that we exposed last May. He also asks, "Which countries [sic] ‘passport’ did you have when you visited Pakistan in 1981," suggesting that Obama must have traveled on a non-U.S. passport. But as we reported June 5, Americans routinely traveled to Pakistan using U.S. passports in 1981, and a conservative blogger’s claim that Obama necessarily used a foreign passport is false.

"Colombo’s" most blatantly false claim is that Obama has "not released" any "Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth." That’s simply not true, as we reported Aug. 21, 2008. We posted high-resolution digital photos of Obama’s "Certification of Live Birth" showing quite clearly that it is indeed embossed with the official state seal of Hawaii and also bears the signature of Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka (who uses a signature stamp for these things). As we reported, that document is legal proof of Obama’s citizenship, meeting the requirements for obtaining a U.S. passport from the State Department.

Nevertheless, "Columbo" asks for more. He wants a certified copy of an "original" birth certificate, presumably meaning whatever form was filled out at Kapi’olani hospital when Obama was born there on Aug. 4, 1961. Such a document may well exist, but it would be in the file drawers of the state of Hawaii, and the state does not release those. Since 2001, the only document the state gives to those who want proof of their birth is a "certification" like the one Obama released. But we have excellent evidence that Obama’s "certification" accurately reflects whatever the state has on file. Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the state’s Department of Health, states that she has seen the "original vital records" and that all is in order. She said in an official press release:

Fukino, July 27, 2009: I … have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawai‘i State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawai‘i and is a natural-born American citizen.

(cont.)

factcheck.org...

Other Insinuations

"Columbo" doesn’t stop at questioning Obama’s citizenship; he also attacks his wife. The faux "Columbo" even suggests that the first lady has been disciplined for criminal activity, asking "Why your wife, Michelle, can no longer practice law as an attorney? (Insurance Fraud?)" But the fact is that Mrs. Obama is merely "voluntarily inactive" as a lawyer in Illinois, according to the state’s attorney registration Web site. The president himself is listed as "voluntarily retired" from practicing law. The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois lists no record of any disciplinary action against either of them.

The questioner also asks "Why your wife has 22 assistants, when other First Ladies had one?" It’s true that the first lady has a large staff — 24 at the time we checked. But as we reported Aug. 5, Laura Bush had at least 18 on her staff that we could identify from personnel records, not just one as our not-so-swift detective asserts. (Laura Bush might have had even more; a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama told us her staff is the same size as Laura Bush’s, but we couldn’t confirm that.)

"Columbo" asks why Obama’s medical records were "not released." Actually, neither Obama nor his rival John McCain made complete disclosure of medical records in the 2008 campaign. McCain allowed a select group of reporters to look over his for three hours, but allowed no photocopies to be made. Obama’s personal physician provided reporters with a detailed summary of his health status in May 2008, pronouncing him "in excellent health" with a normal electrocardiogram and normal lab results — including a cholesterol level of 173. There are surely plenty of other medical records pertaining to Obama that are not public, but we know of no evidence that these might contradict what his doctor says. And "Columbo" doesn’t provide any such evidence either.

This tactic is repeated in other questions that are meant to raise suspicions by asking for records that aren’t ordinarily made public, without any evidence that those records contain anything derogatory. "Columbo" notes that Obama’s student records from Occidental College, Columbia University and Harvard Law School are "not released," for example. But the truth is that it would be illegal under federal law (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) for those institutions to give those records to reporters or members of the public without Obama’s specific, written permission. Obama hasn’t given that permission, but other presidential candidates generally don’t either. George W. Bush didn’t give permission to either Andover or Yale to release his grades when he was running for president, for example, according to a 1999 profile in the Washington Post. Bush’s grades at Yale eventually became public, but only because somebody leaked them to the New Yorker magazine. We have no idea whether any embarrassing secrets might yet be lurking in Obama’s old student records. But neither does the author of this "Columbo" interrogation.

Other "Columbo" questions are just insinuations that Obama is hiding something, without any evidence of that. He wonders why Obama’s "schedule" and his "records" as an Illinois state senator are "not available." But the truth is that all the bills Obama sponsored or cosponsored, along with full transcripts of what he said on the Senate floor during his service between 1997 and 2004, can be found on the Web site of the Illinois Legislature. It’s true that other records probably exist — perhaps daily schedules listing his meetings with constituents or lobbyists — but what reason would there be to think they would show something bad? Or that anything unflattering would be revealed by Obama’s list of law clients, or his college thesis, or his draft registration, all of which "Columbo" wants to examine? "Columbo" doesn’t say. In detective parlance, he’s "got nuttin’ " on Obama regarding any of those subjects.

Our conclusion: This phony "Columbo" is no Sherlock Holmes.

-Brooks Jackson

Sources

Jackson, Brooks. "Was Obama Born in the USA?" FactCheck.org. 7 May 2009.

Jackson, Brooks. "More ‘Birther’ Nonsense: Obama’s 1981 Pakistan Trip." FactCheck.org. 5 Jun 2009.

Henig, Jessica, with Joe Miller. "Born in the U.S.A." FactCheck.org. 21 Aug 2008.

Watanabe, June. "Born Identity." Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 6 June 2009.

Fukino, Chiyome. "Press Release: Statement by Health Director Chiyome Fukino, M.D." Hawaii state Department of Health. 27 Jul 2009.

"Attorney’s Registration and Public Disciplinary Record" for Michelle Obama, Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Web site accessed 14 Jan 2010.

"Attorney’s Registration and Public Disciplinary Record" for Barack Obama, Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Web site accessed 14 Jan 2010.

Gore, D’Angelo. "Michelle Obama’s Staff." FactCheck.org. 5 Aug 2009.

Altman, Lawrence K. "Many Holes in Disclosure of Nominees’ Health." New York Times. 19 Oct 2008.

Sweet, Lynn. "Obama releases medical information: ‘excellent health." Chicago Sun-Times. 29 May 2008.

"Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)" U.S. Department of Education, Web site accessed 14 Jan 2010.

Romano, Lois and George Lardner Jr. "Bush: So-So Student but a Campus Mover." Washington Post. 27 Jul 1999.

Mayer, Jane, with Alexandra Robbins The Talk of the Town, “Dept. of Aptitude” The New Yorker, 8 Nov 1999; 30.

Posted by Brooks Jackson on Monday, January 18, 2010 at 11:41 am
Filed under Ask FactCheck · Tagged with birth certificate, Obama

Thanks for posting. I'm sure we are all guilty of jumping the gun. Myself included. With so much info and disinformation it easy to be swayed from truth.
You just don't know what's truth or not truth.

A bit off topic, but here is a paper published that will help on this forum. We see you....

25 Ways to Suppress Truth - The Rules of Disinformation - Michael Sweeney
scribd.com

reply to post by timewalker


That's a great article you posted. Classes in logic/persuasion methods/argument construction should be mandatory at all levels of education. I know if I ever have kids, I will be pushing that from a very early age. (No santa at my house, lol).

Best,
Skunknuts

reply to post by skunknuts


One man's vaccination is another's immmunization.

Life is but a dream, and my dream is different than yours.

Individualism is more. That is it! More.

That is all I have to say on this subject.