It's fascinating that the networks just keep using the data on "hate groups" cooked up by the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center, but they have skipped reporting on the group's internal uproar and the ousting of its founder, Morris Dees, for "undisclosed conduct issues."
CBS even used SPLC statistics on growing "white supremacy" on Sunday's Face the Nation to push White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney in the aftermath of the New Zealand mosque attacks. Mulvaney pushed back that you cannot connect this mass murder to Trump -- although liberals have tried.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to get right to it, in the wake of this horrific terror attack in New Zealand. You know, there's a lot of parsing of the president's own language in referring to what happened here. Broadly speaking, the number of attacks and support for white supremacy is up, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
And even a Trump-appointed attorney in the state of Virginia, Thomas Cullen, was recently quoted as saying: "White supremacy and far right extremism are among the greatest domestic security threats facing the United States." Has the president been briefed on this?
MICK MULVANEY: Well, I don`t know who that gentleman is. Certainly, the president's briefed on all of...
BRENNAN: You know who the Southern Poverty Law Center is.
MULVANEY: I do. I do. The president`s absolutely briefed on all of the threats, both domestic and international. But I want to push back against this idea that every time something bad happens everywhere around the world, folks who don`t like Donald Trump seem to blame it on Donald Trump. I`m hoping we can get...
BRENNAN: I'm not blaming it on the president. I was asking about --
MULVANEY: I didn't say --
BRENNAN: -- his characterization.
MULVANEY: I didn't say you. I'm saying that that`s clearly what some folks want -- want to do. I have heard other members of the Democrat Party trying to do it, folks at the Southern Poverty Law Center here trying to do it. This is a tragic thing that happened in New Zealand.
BRENNAN: They're just saying the number of white nationalist groups has surged by 50 percent.
MULVANEY: Since Trump has become -- office, right?
BRENNAN: Well, in the past year.
MULVANEY: There you go. So -- here's the point. Why can't we --
BRENNAN: So, do you disagree that it`s a rising threat?
MULVANEY: I disagree that there`s a causal link between Donald Trump being president and something like this happening in New Zealand.
In a review of transcripts in the Nexis data-retrieval system, CBS offered the most prominent mentions of the SPLC of the major networks over the last two years: this one on Face the Nation, seven mentions on the CBS Evening News, three on CBS This Morning and one on Sunday Morning. (For the bean counters at NewsGuard, there were also three mentions from CBS Morning News transcripts.) Seven (or almost half) of these mentions came in August 2017 in the aftermath of the Charlottesville violence.
CBS promoted SPLC hate-group data and also celebrated the selling of Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia's guitar, the proceeds of which went to the SPLC.
ABC offered 12 mentions of the SPLC -- four on Nightline, three on Good Morning America, and one each on World News Tonight and This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Sunny Hostin brought them up twice on The View. Nine of the 12 came in August 2017.
On This Week on August 13, 2017, ABC reporter Pierre Thomas announced "While the country has made great progress in terms of race, racism remains a disease that plagues this country. It's like cancer. Even when it's in remission, it's still a threat. Since 2000, we have seen a 52 percent increase in the number of hate groups. There were 602 hate groups in 2000. There are now 917 according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. So this is a really significant issue that always is lurking in the background ready to explode."
The chirpiest tribute came from GMA pop-culture anchor Lara Spencer on August 23, 2017:
LARA SPENCER: We begin with George and Amal Clooney pushing back against intolerance. The pair have donated a million dollars to the Southern Poverty Law Center. I really love them. The organization combats hate groups and in the aftermath of the Charlottesville violence, the Clooneys released a joint statement saying, quote, "We are proud to support the Southern Poverty Law Center in its efforts to prevent violent extremism in the United States. We thank you, Clooneys. Enough said.
NBC offered eleven mentions or stories: six on Today, three on NBC Nightly News, and two on Meet the Press. Five of these were aired in August 2017, including an infamous debate on August 20 between an SPLC operative and a defender of violent Antifa tactics. On August 16, NBC Nightly News ran a story promoting a white supremacist who was thrilled with President Trump. It began like this:
LESTER HOLT: After the President`s remarks, white supremacists have come out of the shadows to cheer his message, viewing it as a validation of their own racist beliefs, including some here in California, a part of America that you might least expect. NBC`s Jacob Soboroff has more on that.
JACOB SOBOROFF: The Southern Poverty Law Center says California has more hate groups than any other state, even in Los Angeles, where white nationalist William Johnson was elated with President Trump's press conference.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think there`s blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it. And you don`t have any doubt about it, either.
WILLIAM JOHNSON: He is the most honest President since George Washington and the cherry tree.
