Reply #11: Help for debunking the "debunkers" -- bookmark this article! [View All]

[scarletwoman]

Fact-checking Moore's political broadside

http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?file=525560.html

Viewer finds Moore 'on firm ground'

<snip>

Moore is readying for a conservative counterattack, saying he has created a "war room" to offer an instant response to any assault on the film's credibility. He has retained Chris Lehane, a Democratic Party strategist known as a master of the black art of "oppo," or opposition research, used to discredit detractors. He also hired outside fact-checkers, led by a former general counsel of The New Yorker and a veteran member of that magazine's legendary fact-checking team, to vet the film.

And he is threatening to go one step further, saying he has consulted with lawyers who can bring defamation suits against anyone who maligns the film or damages his reputation. "Any attempts to libel me will be met by force," Moore said. "The most important thing we have is truth on our side. If they persist in telling lies, knowingly telling a lie with malice, then I'll take them to court."

Joanne Doroshow, a public interest lawyer and filmmaker who shared in a 1993 Oscar for documentaries and who joined the fact-checking effort last month, said, "We have gone through every single word of this film - literally every word - and verified its accuracy."

That said, Moore's fact-checkers said they did not view the film as straight reporting. "This is an Op-Ed piece, it's not a news report," said Dev Chatillon, the former general counsel for The New Yorker, adding, "The facts have to be right, yes, but this is an individual's view of current events. And I'm a very firm believer that it is within everybody's right to examine the actions of their government."

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Looks to me like Moore has his bases covered...

sw