Is WorldNetDaily Really a "Free Press for a Free People"?

Question ^ | 12/19/01 | memsahib

[memsahib]

So what do you think? Am I being unfair in saying that WND is not a truly "free" press? Is the Scientology issue not as serious as I think? Is the media really giving more attention to the problems with Scientology (outside of the St. Petersburg Times and newtimesla)? Should I just go back to sleep and let whatever is going to happen just take its course? (Of course, in a Scientology world THEY will be the government and sites like freerepublic.com won't exist and the courts will order Child Dianetics to be applied in all family law situations, and if you break the rules you could be tied to a tree and ordered to run around it 18 hours a day in the heat of the desert.)

[dirtboy]

I quit taking WND seriously when they ran pictures of a supposed neutron bomb test in China. A closer look at the pictures made it clear they were rather cheesy fakes. Then I realized they were into a fear-mongering game when they and Newsmax ran all kinds of stories about Y2K while they were both selling Y2K-related merchandise - that is a serious conflict of interest for any journalistic enterprise if it wants to be objective. And now that WND is running Debka every week, they've really hit rock-bottom, and now serve to discredit internet media, something we really don't need, as it gives the mainstream media ammo against us in their efforts to downplay our effectiveness...

[The Truth Will Make You Free]

I used to read WND a lot, but all the embedded ads have turned me away.

I first heard of FR in a WND about demonstrations during the 2000 election.

[memsahib]

I started wondering when they added Hal "the world is going to end at any moment" Lindsay as a columnist.

[memsahib]

Thanks for your input. I heard about freerepublic.com mentioned in an article by Gary North. Heard anything about him? He thought Y2K was a potential disaster (though he always said he asked for proof it wasn't and proof wasn't forthcoming).

[memsahib]

Didn't verify her source? How embarrassing for her. Sloppy journalism will quickly kill a journalist's credibility.

[dirtboy]

He thought Y2K was a potential disaster (though he always said he asked for proof it wasn't and proof wasn't forthcoming).

Hey, I thought Y2K was a potential disaster, and so did a lot of major corporations - and it probably would have been a major disaster if massive system overhauls hadn't taken place - and I simply didn't believe the assurances from the Clinton Administration that everything was under control, given their propensity for lying. But it's one thing to believe that Y2K could be a problem, it's another to hype Y2K fears while your website is peddling Y2K-related merchandise...

[dirtboy]

Editor's note: Last week's column by Ellen Makkai erroneously included a ficticious quote attributed to a person calling himself High Priest Egan of the First Church of Satan in Salem, Mass. Although the quote was found in several reputable sources and although Mr. Egan and his church are real entities, the quote apparently originated as satire in The Onion. Ellen Makkai made several attempts to contact Mr. Egan to verify the quote, but was unable to reach him until after publication. Ellen Makkai and WorldNetDaily regret the error.

I sent them an e-mail about a number of out-and-out lies in a Debka column but they never bothered with a retraction.

[Plummz]

SP!

[AsYouAre]

Isn't Debbie Schlussel a writer for WND. Nuff said.

[AsYouAre]

I just did! And I've read your excellent defense of Issa in other places as well. I think WND should change her slogan to "Debbie does hit pieces". I'm as Pro-Israel as they come, but COME ON! Not everyone from Arab-American descent is deserving of having their reputation trashed.

[Churchillspirit]

I receive daily e-mails from WND. All attempts to have them remove my address from their data base have failed. When I 'Reply" to their messages my mail comes back as "undeliverable" Very frustrating.

[avenir]

WND is full of sloppy work and personal agenda's disguised as journalism.

Agreed. That's what turned me off, too. Not to mention the addition of a kid journalist. I don't doubt he's bright, but to me it smacked a bit of exploitation.

[memsahib]

That's all I know about him. Is he a reliable source of information?

[memsahib]

Are you referring to WND or me? I am KOX SP 4+.