No Honor Among Thieves, No Curiosity Among Journalists: Perez Hilton Re-Pirates Video, CBS News Repeats Smear

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The piracy of my video and the smearing of Michele Bachmann continue, despite my having done two posts — here and here — explaining the true story. Here is a screen-cap from Perez Hilton’s site, showing that he downloaded and re-uploaded the pirated/edited “Who likes white people?” video, imprinting it with his own watermark:

Look closely, and you’ll see that Perez’s re-pirated version had already gotten more than 30,000 views (the screen-cap was done at about 8 p.m. ET today) which is of course in addition to the many thousands who had viewed the first ripoff/smear version at the “On Knees” anti-Christian blog. But wait — it gets better:

Yeah — Michelle Castillo of CBS News (!!) made this smear job the No. 1 selection in “Top 5 Viral Videos of the Week.” You can skip ahead to about the 40-second mark of the video:

Castillo writes:

Everything that comes out of Michele Bachmann’s mouth is gold. A new video has her asking a crowd of people, “Who likes white people?” It doesn’t make any sense, so many explanations are surfacing from “White People Soul Power” being the band that played before, to the fact it was raining and Bachmann is asking about “wet” people.

What about the explanation “surfacing” from the guy who was there with the video camera, huh? But never mind that now. Before I continue excoriating Castillo and CBS News specifically, let me say that I have no earthly idea who originated this bizarre supposition that Bachmann was referring to the name of a band. She actually said, “Who likes wet people?” — a joking reference to the fact that it had been raining all day at the Aug. 5 Christian music festival — and there was no band performing with “White” in its name.

Because here is the weird thing: The lineup for the entire concert is online! Bachmann had been scheduled to be there about 6 p.m. but ran late, and so she didn’t speak until after 8 p.m., following Tim Cooper & Friends on the main stage. I know this because I was at the festival to cover Bachmann’s appearance, but it doesn’t take Woodward and Bernstein investigative reporting skills to discover, on the Spirit Midwest Ministries site, under a tab labeled “news,” that their media contact person is Julie Barnes, whose phone number is 515-577-8035.

So any reporter who had seen that silliness about the “White People Soul Power Band” — c’mon, really? I mean, really? — could have spent less than five minutes online, learned that there was no such band at that festival, and called the festival’s promoters to ask them the blindingly obvious question: “Did Michelle Bachmann actually say that stuff about ‘white people’?”

Evidently, however, Michelle Castillo of CBS News doesn’t know how to do a Google search, or browse a Web site, or pick up a fucking phone — what a brilliant journalistic innovation that would be — and call Bachmann campaign spokeswoman Alice Stewart (whose contact information is not top secret) and ask her what this is all about.

No, not at all. But please notice this curious fact:

Yeah, the time-stamp: “6:44 p.m. Aug. 30,” by which time Chris Moody’s accurate post at Yahoo News — identifying my video as the source from which the pirated/edited smear video was stolen — had been a top item at Memeorandum for more than 24 hours!

But wait, it gets better, because here are my two posts on this topic:

  1. Monday Aug. 29, 9:10 p.m. — MY VIDEO of Michele Bachmann’s Christian Testimony Used in SMEAR JOB
  2. Tuesday, Aug. 30, 10:58 a.m. — Lowlife Who Pirated My Video Apologizes for Smearing Michele Bachmann

If Michelle Castillo has the advanced journalistic skills necessary to click that second link, she will discover that, when informed that his copyright infringement was the subject of contemplated legal action, the video pirate had published an apology and deleted the video from his YouTube channel early this morning, more than 12 hours before Castillo included his piracy as the No. 1 selection in the CBS News “Top 5 Viral Videos of the Week.”  

As a veteran of 25 years in the news business, I promise you that if I were Michelle Castillo’s boss, I’d have several choice words to say to her, the mildest of which would be, “YOU’RE FIRED!”

And I’ll have a few more things to say about the egregious incompetence being practiced by the mainstream media in regard to this story, but first I’ve got to call my lawyer. CBS is going to be getting a letter from my lawyer P.D.Q., and if Michelle Castillo is not instantly terminated for this astonishingly shoddy excuse for journalism, I’d be greatly surprised.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers! As for the Professor’s remark about funding my retirement, it may take years of expensive litigation to force the thievish scoundrels to pay up, and in the meantime I’ve got bills to pay, so please hit the freaking tip jar.





UPDATE II: Linked by Bob Belevedere at The Camp of the Saints — thanks!

Just got off the phone with my lawyer, who was finishing up the demand letter to Perez Hilton, whose site has a statement about their willingness to protect the intellectual property of others, with contact information for complaining about copyright violation.

In such letters, it is customary to demand that a retraction/apology be published with the same prominence as the original item about which complaint is made. But having included pirated video in their “Top 5 Viral Videos” round-up, what will CBS News do?

Besides firing Michelle Castillo, I mean . . .

UPDATE III: Thanks to Dana Loesch at Big Journalism for this link to a corrective video by our friends at the Media Research Center:

See? That’s what’s called “fair use” — employing a brief clip from my video in pursuit of truth, as opposed to recycling the pirated ripoff smear video in pursuit of a lie, which is what CBS News has done without even the slightest suggestion of effort toward what lawyers call “due diligence.” (Take notes, kids, this could be on the final exam.)

Meanwhile, our fellow fedora-wearer Ed Driscoll takes a walk down Memory Lane, to that long-ago era when Ken Layne was interested in truth.

UPDATE IV: Maetenloch at Ace of Spades HQ:

Even though it wasn’t what she said and made no sense in context, Ken Layne of Wonkette ran with it proclaiming Bachmann to be a crazy racist. But when it was shown to be a blatant hoax (with the original poster apologizing) he refused to make any corrections and has doubled down on the snark.

Now, I think some people may be misunderstanding my end of this situation. Bachmann is the one with the case for defamation, and that’s her business. My lawyer is pursuing action for copyright infringement, and you see how — with the pirated/edited video having been re-uploaded by Perez Hilton and recycled by CBS News — the original pirate set in motion a chain of events that is now beyond his control.

Already, I’ve seen at least two other versions of the pirate’s ripoff version re-uploaded to other YouTube accounts. (My lawyer is sending takedown notices as quickly as time permits.) Evidently, people do this kind of stuff — re-uploading ripoff videos — all the time, seeking to gain extra views to their YouTube accounts through online thievery.

The YouTube pirates may be doing this in ignorance of copyright law. Ignorance of the law is no defense, of course, but in most cases the original copyright owner is a big commercial enertainment outfit — Time/Warner for example — and once the pirated video is deleted from YouTube, their interest in the pirate ends.

In my particular case? Not so much.

“Good Lord these people are stupid.” You can say that again, brother. This left-wing anti-Christian jackwagon ripped me off and dishonestly edited my video to create a false smear against Michelle Bachmann, an honorable member of Congress, deserving of admiration and respect. The pirated smear video was then posted at numerous Web sites, recycled by other pirates, and included as the top item in a “viral video” roundup by a major news organization.

Dude.

I rattled the tip jar to get enough money to travel to Iowa to cover the campaign leading up to the Ames Straw Poll. I stood in the rain and mud at that festival to get video of Bachmann’s Christian testimony. And you’re going to take my hard work, funded through contributions from my loyal readers, hijack it and pervert it into a vicious smear?

Don’t you see what an overwhelming incentive I have to extract the maximum legal penalty from your sorry ass? And don’t you know that there are many thousands of people — including some very shrewd lawyers — who have been waiting many years for just such an opportunity as this, with some anonymous blog-pest like you caught red-handed in undeniable wrongdoing?

You had better pray God will have mercy on you.

Because my lawyers sure as hell won’t.

UPDATE V: Linked by Donald Douglas at American Power — thanks!

UPDATE VI: Mike at Cold Fury mentions the “fake but accurate” standard that CBS made infamous.


104 comments

  2. Methinks, this blogging/journalist thing of yours is going to pay off now in a big way, given that CBS has now pirated and published the fraudulently altered video.

    Enjoy your your new tax bracket, and keep up the good work.

  7. Well, I am not yet — to borrow P.J. O’Rourke’s picturesque phrase — “farting through silk” — so I hope readers will throw a few shekels in the tip jar.

  8. This is what I’ve been telling people. If they don’t have anything substantial to attack our candidates on – they will make things up.

    We have to be ready for it, and have a more effective strategy to deal with it.

    This is only going to get worse the closer we get to the elections.

    Stacy, you’re photogenic, go on TV and say something about this!

  9. File your suit for enough money that you will own CBS when you win.  That way, you can change their editorial policy. 

  10. […] Stacy reports that Perez Hilton has posted the doctored video — no surprise that the vile piece of human waste would — but so has CBS News.  As he writes: If Michelle Castillo has the advanced journalistic skills necessary to click that second link, she will discover that, when informed that his copyright infringement was the subject of contemplated legal action, the video pirate had published an apology and deleted the video from his YouTube channel early this morning, more than 12 hours before Castillo included his piracy as the No. 1 selection in the CBS News ”Top 5 Viral Videos of the Week.” […]

  13. The proliferation of media and other sites using the smear video was the plan all along. It’s similar to what Ed Schultz did with that Perry black cloud clip a week or so ago. Schultz knew from the outset that he would get called on his unscrupulous editing which he then apologised for but not for the ridiculous conclusion he knew wasn’t supported by the clip. At any road MSNBC takes down the clip meanwhile who knows how many websites have put that clip up and by the end of the week no one will know how many sites have posted your purloined video.

  14. They are in the process of Palinizing Bachmnn. By the time they’re shamed into admitting the truth, they’ll have moved onto the next round of lies. Meanwhile, most people will believe she actually said, “Who likes white people”.

    That’s how this  game is played.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if SNL started of their season premiere with Tina Fey has Bachmann saying, “I can see white people from my house.”

  15. […] media is 99% against them. Whatever happened to journalism? Where can one go for a fair view? No Honor Among Thieves, No Curiosity Among Journalists: Perez Hilton Re-Pirates Video, CBS News Repe… Have you seen this? Short version is that this blogger shot some video of Bachmann at a rally and […]

  16. What did I tell you this afternoon?  Even if it takes years sue em all and fund Jefferson’s college

  17. What did I tell you this afternoon?  Even if it takes years sue em all and fund Jefferson’s college

  18. I haven’t seen RSM’s angst ridden blog posts when Breitbart dishonestly edited the Shirley Sherrod video and smeared a leftie. Breitbart still remains unapologetic. (Note there was a legal threat involved in that issue too.) On the contrary RSM defended those pathetic acts.

    Not to forget Ladd Ehlinegr’s smear ad against Janice Hahn; the right wingers defended it by saying that “whatever the means”, the ad brought  publicity to an issue not covered in the mainstream media or whatever.

    Similar dynamics apply for the Bachmann case. I guess we have to live through RSM’s “Poor Me!,” “I Have Been Wronged By The Liberals!” act. Let him have his 15 minutes of fame.

  19. I haven’t seen RSM’s angst ridden blog posts when Breitbart dishonestly edited the Shirley Sherrod video and smeared a leftie. Breitbart still remains unapologetic. (Note there was a legal threat involved in that issue too.) On the contrary RSM defended those pathetic acts.

    Not to forget Ladd Ehlinegr’s smear ad against Janice Hahn; the right wingers defended it by saying that “whatever the means”, the ad brought  publicity to an issue not covered in the mainstream media or whatever.

    Similar dynamics apply for the Bachmann case. I guess we have to live through RSM’s “Poor Me!,” “I Have Been Wronged By The Liberals!” act. Let him have his 15 minutes of fame.

  20. I’m afraid that I can’t touch your tip jar until November, unless fortune smiles in ways I presently do not anticipate. But when I finally hit the tip jar, I promise it will be as much as I can in good conscience cough up.

    This outrage disgusts me.

  21. Brietbart didn’t edit anything. He posted what was sent to him.  You are a liar.

    How much money have Sherrod and her husband made off the Pigford scam?

  23. Except, of course, that those only happened inside your skull…

    Not that they’d be crowded out by brains, though.

  27. Breitbart never smeared Shirley Sherrod. You can go look at the original post at Big Government where he noted that she eventually redeemed herself by helping out the farmer.

    The focus of the video was supposed to be the NAACP’s reaction to her racist statements at a time when the NAACP was accusing the Tea Party of being racist. He has nothing to apologize for.

    By the way, are you really defending these obviously bogus smears against a female politician?

  30. Brietbart didn’t edit anything. He posted what was sent to him.

    Yeah, how convenient. He is a professional after all, unlike the rookie in the current case. But the asshole did not remove those videos and never apologized.

    ACORN videos were edited too, and there were legal cases in there as well.

  31. How much money did Marcus Bachmann and his wife make at his clinic by providing ‘ex-gay’ therapy?

    You idiot: Those were clients who sought psychatric services. It was a fee-for-service arrangment. Nobody forced them to choose Bachmann’s clinics, as opposed to Pigford frauds ripping off the taxpayers who have no choice about paying taxes.

  32. CBS and Perez Hilton clearly didn’t exercise due diligence – or any diligence at all – and both have deeper pockets.

    You’ll never get rich off of the deal, but you should be able to force prominent retractions, your legal fees reimbursed, and some cash but probably not enough to throw away the tip jar.

    The problem is it will be hard to argue the video clip has that kind of value.  Straight up, it’s a news clip about a candidate at a religious event.  Ironically, it would probably be worth more if she HAD said “white people.”  So your main threat is going to be the damage to your reputation by the misuse of your work, which is a different sort of tort.

    Since Ken Layne is involved, it would be a good idea to squeeze him hard, too.  He’s the little creep that Photoshopped Michelle Malkin’s head onto the scantily clad coed’s body way back when.

  33. You shouldn’t be so hard on Michelle Castillo — it’s not her fault that CBS News has yet to install that new Google “websearch” software on her computer.

  34. The entire ACORN videos and the audio and the transcripts are available at Breitbart’s site. I recommend that you go and study, instead of lying.

    You are usually oblivious, humorless, and a fool, but you do not usually lie. I would be beyond sorry to have to change my view of you from that of an honest leftist.

  35. he noted that she eventually redeemed herself by helping out the farmer.

    Kinda like the USA ‘redeemed’ itself by electing a black President?  What bullshit.

    Sherrod didn’t need to ‘redeem’ herself, ’cause she was never in the wrong in that ‘entire’ (not the edited) video.

  38. The entire ACORN videos and the audio and the transcripts are available at Breitbart’s site.

    Nah, some of it is edited out. You get that evidence from the ACORN employees for one, not by just blindly believing whatever O’Keefee and Breitbart says is the ‘entire’ video.

  39. Woman, that simply does not follow. If redemption is needed, I shall lay it upon the dead of the Civil War.

    As to Sherrod, you simply do not have a case. And, soon, considering that she’s trying to sue Breitbart, you will have no choice but to acknowledge that truth.

  40. It was a fee-for-service arrangment.

    If not money, something else…no? Donations from christian fundies for their “good work”, etc.

    I guess the Bachmanns might also be hoping that the good Lord will reward them with more gifts in this world (perhaps help Michele beocme POTUS) and perhaps also reserve a seat for them in the Heaven.

  41. You are lying.

    I have – the gods and all ministers of grace forgive me – spent far more time than I really could spare watching, listening and reading  those videos, audio and transcripts.

    They show no gaps. About all you can grasp at are the occasional inaudible or garbled moments.

    The material is complete. It’s utterly disgusting, but it’s all there.

    Stop lying.

  43. Perhaps CBS News too busy reviewing Texas ANG correspondence to check out the facts on this story.

  44. The Left attempts to destroy by whatever means it can anyone among the Right who is or has garnered the attention that the Left  jealously believes belongs “all to them”.  And in Perez Hilton’s case, obviously he’s waging a homosexualist-fever against Bachmann because of her beliefs.    Make no mistake, it’s the homosexualists who are driven mad already and attempt to ruin others who aren’t catching their fever.  And they have many a hanger-on among network media (in this case, CBS and their awful employee, quoted above) who is eager to maintain crowd influence among the hateful Left where anyone among the Right is concerned who has an audience.

    IN Perez Hilton’s case, he exercises not  only no ethics but seems proud to be unethical.  I hope he and CBS are sued by “theothermccain.com”.

  46. RS,

    Sue CBS’ Parent co. and go after Sumner and Redstone — they’ll keep your Tip jar flowing. 

    If the Left can attack any candidate with the flimsiest of “Guilt by Association,” so can we. 

    Remember folks, for the modern Left, 1984 is not a warning but a guidebook. (See Palin, Bush fils and Pere, Reagan, Koch brothers, halliburton, etc. et. al. = Emmanuel Goldsteins)

  47. Those god damn assholes. They know what the shit they’re doing. You’d think they’d have learned after Rathergate. But I guess there really is no cure for stupid. As for Perez Hilton, what the shit can you expect from him?

    Give it a day or two RSM and you can almost bet money that Andrew Sullivan will weight in as well, for the same reason. This is nothing but a game of Bash the “Gay Basher” on Hilton’s part.

    This is your chance to soak the rich. Make them pay, my friend.

  49. Did it ever occur to you that the people that seek Bachmann’s help are doing so because they are unhappy and are seeking help, and that he might be actually helping them? Like it or not, homosexuality is a sickness based on a delusion. Don’t the people who want help deserve it, or should they be forced to wallow in the muck of their sickness and made to like it?

  50. And, you lack honesty.

    Those are the edited by news stations videos; that critique was invited, then debunked by the release of the unedited videos, audio, and transcripts.

    Stop lying.

    Further, this thread is not about Andrew Breitbart, James O’Keefe, and ACORN. Return to the subject, and try to tell me – and Stacy! – how it’s just fine to steal his work, then mis-characterize it to create a smear.

    Try for some relevancy, dear. I know it’s hard, but try. It’s sometimes worth the effort, and it may actually make you exercise your gray matter.

    Think of it this way, the more mentally agile you remain, the better your chances of retaining your marbles as you age.

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