Lou Dobbs gets it wrong - again.

Ed. note: I have emailed CNN expressing my concerns about Lou Dobbs and his irresponsible behavior in spreading lies and falsehoods. See Jon Stewart's brilliant smackdown of Dobbs here. This is a letter from Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center to CNN President Jonathan Klein: July 24, 2009 Jonathan Klein President CNN/U.S. 1 Time Warner Center New York, N.Y. 10019-6038 Dear Mr. Klein, As an important and respected news organization, CNN has a special responsibility to ensure the accuracy of its reporting. We have written to you before about our concern that Lou Dobbs repeatedly fails to live up to this standard in his reporting on immigration. Now, Mr. Dobbs is again trading in falsehoods and racist conspiracy theories, questioning President Obama's American citizenship. On the July 15 edition of "Lou Dobbs Tonight," Mr. Dobbs questioned the official certificate provided by the president and the State of Hawaii and complained that President Obama has not made public the "original document." On his radio program, Mr. Dobbs has repeatedly questioned the president's fitness for office, demanding he "show the documents" and, at one point, jokingly suggesting President Obama may be "undocumented." The truth about the president's birth is not in dispute. It has been verified by Factcheck.org, among many other serious news organizations, and his official birth documents have been made public. CNN itself has repeatedly reported on the falsity of the claims of the "birthers," and the network's esteemed legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, recently called those claims "a joke." As you know, even Mr. Dobbs' frequent fill-in anchor, Kitty Pilgrim, debunked the birthers on the July 17 edition of Mr. Dobbs' own CNN show. The fact that Mr. Dobbs suggests otherwise on CNN — while real CNN reporters tell the truth — is both deplorable and an embarrassment to all serious journalists. As he has in several other instances, Mr. Dobbs, in taking up the birthers' claims, is adopting an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that originated on the radical racist right. As Gawker.com has reported, this particular conspiracy theory was first developed by an open anti-Semite and circulated by right-wing extremists who cannot accept the fact that a black man has been elected president of the United States. Among its adherents was neo-Nazi James von Brunn, the alleged murderer of a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., this June. Von Brunn had helped spread the birthers' claims on the Internet and attacked the "dishonest & conspiratorial Media" for not taking them up. This is not the first time Mr. Dobbs has pushed racist conspiracy theories or defamatory falsehoods about immigrants. We wrote you in 2007 to bring to your attention his utterly false claim that 7,000 new cases of leprosy had appeared in the United States in a recent three-year period, due at least in part to immigrants. (The real number, according to official statistics, was about 400. Mr. Dobbs took his spurious information from the late right-wing extremist, Madeleine Cosman.) In addition, Mr. Dobbs has reported as fact the so-called Aztlan conspiracy, which claims that undocumented Mexican immigrants are part of a plot to "reconquer" the American Southwest. He has suggested there is something to a related conspiracy theory that claims the governments of Mexico, the United States and Canada are secretly planning to merge into the "North American Union." He has falsely claimed that "illegal aliens" fill one third of American prison and jail cells. And Mr. Dobbs has routinely disparaged, on CNN's air, those who have had the integrity to point out the falsity of these and similar claims. Respectable news organizations should not employ reporters willing to peddle racist conspiracy theories and false propaganda. It's time for CNN to remove Mr. Dobbs from the airwaves. Sincerely, J. Richard Cohen President

Photo of Pinocchio marionette, Barcelona, Spain by Tara Bradford.

Comments

[patry francis]

I wrote a letter too. Between the endless infotainment and Dobbs' scurrilous "reporting," I'm officially done with CNN.

[susanna's sketchbook]

I've had my head in the sand regarding "birthers". I thought the questioning of President Obama's birth died during the Presidential election. I didn't know it was still going on. Well, I'm glad that Kathy Pilgrim brought out the truth. As for Lou Dobbs...I wouldn't say he's a respected reporter...more like a news celebrity giving his own personal biased opinion. Having to see his face and hear his words (along with his equals over at Fox News) on the wall off tvs was one of the reasons my husband and I changed our gym memberships. These celebrity reporters have a knack for sucking out every joy or ounce of contentment in Life, replacing it with anger and suspicion.

[Chris]

ERRRRRGGGH

I got back to town and caught up with my feeds and could NOT believe it when I heard this.

[Risamay]

Lou Dobbs sucks it in more ways than one. Great letter. And post!

[Barbara]

This has been rattling around in my brain for days now. The astonishing thing about this Lou Dobbs controversy is that it seems no one along the line at CNN stood up and said, at the very least, "There's a glaring inconsistency in these 'reports'." The show has a producer, the network has legal counsel - where were they? What has happened that ignorance is admired and applauded? Didn't Maya Angelou say something after the election to the effect that 'No more do we glory in our ignorance'? It isn't just the broadcast media, either, as the fiasco involving Katherine Weymouth, publisher of the Washington Post, former lawyer for the Post, and the grand-daughter of Katherine Graham (!) earlier this month attests. I'm quoting from Politico.com (07/03/09) when I tell you she was planning exclusive "salons" at her home "where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to 'those powerful few' - Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper's own reporters and editors." The whole thing has been attributed to a public relations snafu, and Ms. Weymouth, acknowledging the paper's $19.5 million first-quarter loss, still "sees bringing together Washington figures as a future revenue source."

She isn't about the public interest at all. She's about the balance sheet. I can only thank you for sharing Mr. Cohen's letter - a lawyer who gets it.

[amber]

Great letter!! This whole things is soooooo stupid, I can't even pay attention whenever these people start talking. Maybe I would be shocked at how many take it seriously?? Lord, help us. lol

:)

[Rochambeau]

Thank you for sharing Mr. Cohen's letter Tara.
Hopefully it will make an impact!

xox
Constance

[Colette]

I am so glad that letter was written to CNN, and that you've reproduced it here. I saw the Jon Stewart segment, and while I think Dobbs is an embarrassment on any given day, his latest craziness was more in line with Faux News. They can repeat the lie till kingdom come, but with enough people pointing out the lie, it wil never, ever, become "truth."

[Christina]

It's a circus over at CNN! It's like watching a cheap tabloid news show. Lou Dobbs has crossed the line. What does he want to come of this?? Lou Dobbs is out of touch. Wave bye, bye Lou, time to sign off.
Thanks Tara. There is much going on in the news this week.
xo

[Paris Parfait]

It IS an example of yellow journalism, at its worst. CNN, like much of the mainstream media, seems to have lost its grip on reporting the truth; they spend way too much time focusing on innuendo and unsubstantiated rumors. For far too long, Lou Dobbs has been spreading disinformation and falsehoods, particularly on immigration. As for NPR, it's not the first mistake they've made lately (remember their duplicity on torture). Really a sad state of affairs in American journalism these days; certainly nothing like what we were taught in journalism school.

[Helen]

CNN is defending Dobbs at the moment as an editorial choice as if it were real news.

There is much worse on the air at any given time just nuanced differently. The state of broadcast news has deteriorated to carnival side show level for the most part. Junk news-- formerly known as yellow journalism in my era-- equals better ratings.

FYI: Even NPR has started reporting on "birthers" last week. I cringed. Every time the story is repeated it gains momentum and is reinforced. All I can think of it that adage, "a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth."

[Julio]

I will never forget when I listening to Randi Rhodes show and she commented on how she really liked Lou Dobbs and that he was a good honest man. It's when I began to doubt her credibility. Have a great weekend Tara

[Se'Lah]

You, my friend, seriously rocks!

[jeanie]

You go girl! CNN's gone down the tubes lately. Good for you!

[Gillian daSilva]

There are two people who make the television magically turn OFF when they appear on-screen;
Lou Dobbs.
Nancy Grace.

What is frightening is that so many watch him and believe what he says without thinking for themselves.

On a happy note, I'm off to see Depeche Mode tonight! A nice surprise from some friends of ours. Enjoy Friday night in Paris, my friend! xoxo