BWHAHAHAHAHAAHA! CNN was PUNKED on Bono/Santorum story!

[Atman]

They just issued an apology...said someone pulled a fast one on them!

:rofl:

[Beetwasher]

1. CNN is Pathetic! What Kind Of Standards Do They Have That They DON'T EVEN

make even the slightest, cursory verification??? WTF???

[CatWoman]

9. two words:

Jeff Gannon.

three words:

Swift Boat Vets.

[NorCalDem]

10. That they are

This shows just how thorough they are on their fact-checking. I mean seriously, could it have been THAT hard for CNN to verify their story with either Bono himself, or his manager (or U2's manager).

But No, screw the phone call and run with the story. That's their MO, and they're sticking to it!

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. hey Jean Meserve did call DHS when they started the NYC

crap... so far I'd say they are batting 500

[NorCalDem]

51. The news should bat something like 0.996

They're the F'ing NEWS for pete's sake! If they haven't checked their facts, they shouldn't run the story, period!

[mcscajun]

58. Once upon a time, you needed two Independent and Reliable sources to make

a rumor a fact in the news biz...sometimes three.

CNN must have missed that day in journalism school.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

2. So it is a bogus story??? nt

[Up2Late]

52. Could someone PLEASE post the story that is being talked about here?

I missed this one. (or at least sum it up?)

[LynneSin]

3. Data & U2 issued this statement about the concert

10.11.05

DATA REACTION TO INACCURATE MEDIA STATEMENTS ON U2 SHOWS AS POLITICAL FUNDRAISERS

STATEMENT BY JAMIE DRUMMOND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DATA (debt AIDS trade Africa), THE AFRICA ADVOCACY GROUP CO-FOUNDED BY BONO:

“It is not uncommon for politicians, from both parties, to organize events at all kinds of music concerts. If any such events take place at a u2 concert, it is without the involvement or knowledge of Data, U2 or Bono. U2 concerts are categorically not fundraisers for any politician - they are rock concerts for U2 fans."

For more information, contact Christopher Lagan, xxxxxxxxx

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I just sent thier statement to Mike Malloy

[LittleClarkie]

22. I would be nice if he read it before he goes ballistic

The truthseekers will have to let us know.

[AntiCoup2K4]

63. He already went ballistic last night.

But he had calmed down by the end of the show when he started to get e-mails debunking the story.

Now he might get ballistic on the mediawhores tonight, but who could blame him for that :evilgrin:

[Sapphire Blue]

15. Thanks for posting this!

[Ksec]

41. LOL Its like ...funny

Booya

[hootinholler]

60. MORE COWBELL BABY!!!

:rofl:

That was called here on DU when it broke. Good ol Santorum ethics at work.

-Hoot

[texpatriot2004]

4. Ah-Ha so it wasn't true that Bono went to the dark side? nm

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

5. Just heard it! Yeah!!!! Spokesman for U2 denies it!!!! eom

[Lex]

7. They FAILED TO CHECK THEIR STORY!

How is it that they can call that "someone pulling a fast one" on them?

Losers.

[Bridget Burke]

14. They could have made ONE phone call...

To U2's "people."

(Or they could have checked DU yesterday, when most of us said "Not bloody likely.")

[hwmnbn]

30. Hey why doesn't Skinner start a...

DU fact-checking service. He can charge for the service. All media outlets can send their "news" here and we can tell them if it's accurate or not.

They can then run it with the utmost confidence.

The money generated can be spent for a national DU meet-up party. or something less worthwhile.

[madmax]

46. Check out this site:

www.mediamatters.org

They do a lot of fact checking. You can sign up for reports. :hi:

[LynneSin]

28. Actually the story is real just reported incorrectly

Republicans new trick is buying a block of tickets at a popular concert and then reselling them as part of a fundraiser for their favorite candidate. Arh-nuld supporters did it at a Stones conert in Boston about a month ago.

Their hope is that people will somehow connect a very popular band with their candidate and possibly win over the votes of the fans of that group.

Anyone can buy tickets for a concert regardless of their political afflication. U2 makes sense for Santorum supporters because of their one connection - Bono & Santorum are both devout catholics.

However, the ticket purchase by the Santorum people was not done through Bono or U2. They purchased the block of tickets on their own and then resold them as a fundraiser. Then they did creative reporting like the NewsMax story to make it sound that U2 was actually a part of the fundraising effort.

[medeak]

38. good work LynnSin! n/t

[Atman]

40. Oh, the fucking IRONY

The two ass-clowns that were forced to read the on-air apology, are now feigning outrage at Kelli Arena over the fake NYC Subway story.

"My goodness, what are people supposed to do, start going out and investigating these stories on their own?"

I'm just...stunned. Not ten minutes after admitting they were punk'd over the Bono story! It's freakin' Alice In Wonderland time, kids! AAAAGGGHHH! I'm drowning in a tsunami of missing white girl hurricane subway earthquake attack irony!

[Jeanette in FL]

42. How come if I did that it would be called....

....scalping? How is their little scheme any different?

[Hissyspit]

43. Good point. nt

[July]

45. Good research, LynneSin. So, they lied? nt

[tjdee]

48. Bono is not a Catholic.

Otherwise, your post is great. :thumbsup:

[pox americana]

84. says here his kids are

"Are you raising your kids as Catholics?"

"Em . . . technically yes, but again I'm not in favour of presenting something that I think is ultimately very personal in any kind of fundamental way. I think it's really up to everyone, when they reach a certain age, to figure it out for themselves. You know, they are Catholic in terms of their upbringing or whatever, but really they'll decide themselves what they wanna believe, when they get older."

http://www.u2faqs.com/band/#6

Oh well, it's the internets :shrug:

[tjdee]

87. That an EDGE quote, LOL.

Bono's father was Catholic, and his mother was Protestant. He was raised Protestant (long Bono bio story) and eventually joined (with Edge and Larry) an evangelical group called Shalom.

When Shalom got too fundie for them, they left it. Bono at least does not identify with any specific religious institution (neither does Edge, but as the quote says he is raising his kids Catholic...kinda). Bono very much bristles at being put into that kind of religious box.

[kiki]

62. Erm...

...the article says this is a "thousand-dollar-a-seat concert"... were Rick and his chums really charging this for the tickets they'd bought? It doesn't seem entirely outwith the bounds of possibility (and obviously, if it's not true, it's more fuel for the "CNN enjoys making shit up" fire).

After an admittedly brief search, the highest price I could find for a U2 ticket was $500. Isn't buying tickets and selling them on for a huge profit called "touting", and, um, illegal?

[Carni]

81. Rick and co would not enjoy a U2 concert

Bullet the blue sky would send them into *vapors*

[Just Me]

68. THAT is the real story which must be aired: Repug trickery and deceit.

GAWD those people make me so damn sick!!! :puke:

When will the media call them out, for crying out loud!!! Stupid!!!

[July]

44. And they laugh at us.

The blogosphere is full of NON-PROFESSIONALS, don't you know. Who check the facts, very often, far more thoroughly than so-called journalists who are getting paid to do just that.

Why was it we should take their "reporting" seriously, again?

[hootinholler]

61. While I don't consider forums blogs...

We check facts because the news media doesn't anymore, in fact they haven't for quite some time.

-Hoot

[July]

77. Right, these are forums.

I guess I'm talking about the "internets" and our vast silliness, according to the mainstream media.

[chalky]

8. THAT'S their excuse? "Someone pulled a fast one on us?"

Good GOD, they're a freakin' NEWS ORGANIZATION!
Don't they fact check?!?!!

IDIOTS.

And the fact that they're soooo eager to blame someone else for their failure leads me to only one conclusion re: their political persuasion....

[KansDem]

36. Just like running a photo of a nuclear plant...

one day and saying it was in North Korea, and running the same photo another day and saying it was in Iran, is "pulling a fast one on CNN"

Just like saying David Letterman's "yawning boy" story was fabricated by Letterman, then when caught in that lie, said CNN received a call from the White House that Letterman fabricated the story, then when caught in that lie, finally admitting it was...well, "a lie" is "pulling a fast one on CNN."

CNN is a nonentity. It died long ago and hasn't the decency to bury itself...

[snippy]

56. "The yawning boy was not even there, and was not yawning and besides

he was standing some place else." That story is quintessential Bush.

Lie immediately: get caught lying; lie again: get caught again; lie again: get caught again . . . and so on and so on.

[Amonester]

86. But... But... Butt... "Fact checkin' COSTS money, y' know?'

"And since Enron&Co's debacle, counting expenses as revenues like they (we) used to do isn't 'fare game' anymore..."

What a bunch of fraudulent s**m (CNN&CO)(of course includes neo CONs)!

[Marr]

11. Cable news is such a fucking joke.

Somebody "pulled a fast one"? Ever heard of checking the facts against another source before you report it? Do they just blab out anything some joker with a fax machine or a telephone tells them?

Infotainment shit heads.

[spanone]

12. This just proves that they go to air without verification. It is not news

This is an entertainment network.

[Marr]

19. And those idiots mock bloggers.

There are bloggers out there that actually fact check- and they'll *admit* to being amateurs.

"Most trusted name in news", my ass. What a joke. They're closer to Ryan Seacrest than Edward R. Murrow.

[Atman]

16. Dan Rather didn't verify the source for them, I guess.

Fire Kyra Phillip's fucking ass, dammit! Jack Cafferty just sat off to the side shaking his head in disgust as they read their apology. That was worth watching CNN for!

[ArbustoBuster]

24. And just a few minutes ago...

...Cafferty snarled, "When did this become 'Eyewitness News'?" when he was confronted with the idiot laughter and stupid jokes being made by Ali and Kyra. I love Cafferty.

[Debi]

17. Dan Rather was forced to retire for this

Should CNN be forced off the air?

[Lex]

18. Makes one wonder WHAT ELSE they just puke up on air without verification!

Whatever the White House and Rove sends over, and I'm not kidding.

[Atman]

20. Remember the Office of Strategic Disinformation?

Whatever the hell Rummy called it, right after the WTC destruction. When people found out, they were forced to "cancel" the program. Which was probably a lie unto itself.

If it comes from this White House, it is a fucking lie!

[whatever4]

21. OH NO FRIGGIN WAY!! REALLY??

hahahahahahahahaha

Oh now that's funny.

Sorry CNN, but you had it coming. Take the money, you're on the payroll. Accept the favors, complicit in the treason. Agree to spew the unadulturated trash as news, you've aided and abetted traitors. Say nothing, you've agreed to it all.

Have to understand the side you're on. Which side are you on CNN? Do you care about facts anymore? Because this is what that was about. You failed us with lie after lie of ommision. Now, we need you to admit it.

The American people need it.

[in_cog_ni_to]

23. Serves them right for not checking to see if it was true! THAT is the

least they should do. :grr:

[Swamp Rat]

25. That's infotainment for ya!

:D

[tjdee]

26. I wonder if Bono will say something about this.

I didn't believe this story for a second--because even if I thought Bono lost his mind, Larry Mullin, Edge, and Adam Clayton would NEVER, EVER have allowed themselves to be put in that situation. Never, ever.

But now I wonder if Bono will say something about this at the concert. He has now been put in a bad place by CNN and Rick Santorum. Jerks.

[cascadiance]

67. He should SUE!

[orwell]

27. They don't need no...

...stinking facts, fact checkers, journalists, integrity, balance.

After all, advertisers keep advertising because the gullible keep watching.

I turned them off after the Bush/Gore debacle and haven't watched more than 15 minutes total since. If everyone who claims disgust did the same, they would be forced to change.

How's that for a fact check.

[helderheid]

29. and will people get fired like Dan Rather?

Thought not.

[hippiechick]

31. ... and how many DU'ers got punked as well ?

... I recall at least 4 pissed off/rant threads in the last 2 days railing about U2 and Bono selling out for doing the Santorum gig ...

:shrug:

[Lex]

34. DU'ers aren't a national news organization. Big difference.

I started a thread with a question about it because I wondered how the hell it could even be true.

DU'ers are the best debunkers on the web and it was debunked yesterday right here at DU.

[LittleClarkie]

35. Say it with me boys and girls

DON'T TAKE THE WORD OF A RIGHT WING NEWS SOURCE!

[Withywindle]

32. Jebus.

U2 has a publicist. An army of them, I'll bet. Publicists' contact info is widely available. It's on every press release they put out. It's their JOB to take questions from the media. That's what they're very well paid to do. It is not top secret info.

There's a whole mob of people at CNN who could have made that one simple phone call. It's kind of mind-boggling, really.

[gatorboy]

33. If CNN can get the little stuff wrong...

Just imagine larger stories that they screw up...

[Lex]

37. That's what is so telling about this story.

They don't check their stories.

They don't even TRY.

[me b zola]

39. Since when do CNN desk reporters write the copy that they read??

Ali stated that he was probably going to be fired for this mistake, as if HE wrote the copy---yeah, right :eyes:

Was this intentionally done by CNN?? If so, are there consequences if someone can prove it?

[lateo]

47. Link?!?!?!

[Atman]

49. I doubt CNN posted a link bragging about this...

...although Kyra and Ali were laughing about it...Ali was even joking that he wondered if he'd get fired for it! It's all a big fucking joke to them. "Look America, we're taking you for fools! Aren't we funny!"

[LuCifer]

50. CNN is SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!! Retaads!

How ghetto can you get?! Dipshits.

Dude, I could probably send them a HOT LEAD that Siouxsie Sioux & Howard Stern are the new singers for QUEEN, sing my name "Bob A. Boohigh" and they'd put it on the air 10 minutes later. Morons!

Lu

[SalmonChantedEvening]

53. I just ran around telling everyone I could about this.

Friends. Family. Pets. Houseplants. My car.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEE :rofl:

[onenote]

54. its really sad that they fell for this

Its also sad that a number of DUers did as well.

onenote

[Lex]

64. Actually, DU'ers debunked it yesterday.

DU'ers are the best debunkers on the web.

If there is ever a question about a story, DU'ers can get to the bottom of it in record time.

[onenote]

70. its great that we have good debunkers,

but its sad that we also have so many folks who will believe just about anything...

onenote

[Seansky]

55. Mama Mia! what has happened to our Most respected news source ;-)

[IndyOp]

57. I am relieved and TICKED OFF --

I left for class feeling upset after reading that Bono was doing a concert for Santorum and now I am relieved and TICKED OFF at CNN!

:kick:

[K8-EEE]

59. Hilarious FR Thread: Freepers Embrace Bono!

One happy poster notes, "Except for Charlie Daniels, we don't have a lot of performers on our side."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1500033/posts#comment?q=1

[Lex]

65. God, Freepers are so unbelievably misinformed

"Their name comes from an Irish unemployment form (form U-2).

24 posted on 10/10/2005 1:16:30 PM PDT by Army Air Corps"

------

Idiots.

[clichemoth]

80. That would be UB-40, not U-2. . .

You know, that band that had a couple of hits back about 10 years ago with reggae-tinged covers of "Red Red Wine" and "Can't Help Falling In Love" . . . They're the ones whose name comes from an Irish unemployment form.

The Freepers just can't get their musical knowledge straight. I can forgive that. I couldn't tell Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, and Toby Keith apart in a lineup. :)

[AntiCoup2K4]

66. Freepers' knowledge of history always amazes me

To: areafiftyone
U2? Sounds like the name of a Soviet war plane.
5 posted on 10/10/2005 12:56:51 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies >

:dunce:


On the other hand though, I had to laugh at this one......
To: areafiftyone

Bono should replace Kofi Annan :)

41 posted on 10/10/2005 2:23:10 PM PDT by sageb1 (This is the Final Crusade. There are only 2 sides. Pick one.)
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies >

Wow, one supposed "fundraiser" and they want Bono to be the Secretary General of the United Nations??

Not that he wouldn't do a great job, but I doubt the Freeps would like it ;)

[lateo]

69. Can someone please explain this whole episode for me?

Did CNN have a link on their website for the initial story?

[walldude]

71. Here's a couple links

First the Newsmax story where they so cleverly insinuated that U2 was having a fund raising concert for Santorum:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/10/10/131502.shtml

And a link to the quote from U2's people denying everything.
http://www.santorumexposed.com/serendipity/archives/82-Bono-Quickly-Distances-Himself-from-Rick.html

[lateo]

72. How did CNN get involved?

[Rex]

73. Have you seen their chief editor?

"BONO E SANTORUM!"

[FARAFIELD]

75. I always love the spanish inquisition bit

Michael palin keeps coming up with more things that make the inquisition so groovy, and i like the subtitle "diabolical Laughter" that is a classic.

[crispini]

74. LOL!

nominated. :rofl:

[FreedomAngel82]

76. LOL

Good!

[The Backlash Cometh]

78. Well give CNN credit. It only took them a few hours to figure this

one out. They've still haven't figured out the conservative con job on them.

Pssssst, network and cable news, here's a scoop for you:

YOU'RE NOT LIBERAL!

[PittLib]

79. There is a bit of personal irony here ...

Apparently some corporate/managment type told a fellow employee that he could not tune the TVs in to CNN (in the restaurant bar) because it is "too liberal". There is much more to this that has me in turmoil (this is a new job for me, and I obviously did not do my homework) ... but I'll save that for another time.

[rocktivity]

82. "Someone" pulled a fast one on them?

Maybe it was the same "someone" who told CNN that Dave Letterman's yawning kid video was a hoax, then denied it, and then denied denying it. They know damned well who that "someone" is--someone who's so connected to Santorum or the GOP, they took it for granted that the story was gospel!

:headbang:
rocknation

[MaineDem]

88. That was so priceless with Letterman and that kid!

Absolutely pricelsss! It confirmed how inept CNN really is.

I've been involved with "causes" using concerts as fundraisers. The donation includes the price of the ticket. It's usually spelled out pretty clearly to avoid those scalping issues.

[proud patriot]

83. They should have come to DU

:eyes:

[Bridget Burke]

85. Perhaps Bono will dedicate a song to Santorum's folks....

I hope the enjoy it.