ABC’s Good Morning America co-host Lara Spencer gave George and Amal Clooney a pat on the back for giving $1 million to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which has a long history of smearing conservative groups.
Spencer said it was “really well done” and omitted any information about SPLC’s anti-conservative leanings on Aug. 23. Instead, she praised the Clooneys for “pushing back against intolerance” by donating to the left-wing group.
Amid audience applause, Spencer misled viewers by saying, “The organization combats hate groups.” Her GMA report failed to expose SPLC for what it really is — a liberal organization regularly using the term “hate group” to smear conservative organizations.
“We thank you, Clooneys” Spencer also said, to more applause.
The SPLC website lists the Family Research Council (FRC), ACT for America, Alliance Defending Freedom and other conservative groups alongside true hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan. A shooter went to FRC’s headquarters in 2012 intent on killing “as many people as possible” after finding it listed as an anti-gay hate group on the SPLC’s Hate Map.
The Clooneys’ donation came in the wake of J.P. Morgan Chase and Apple pledging their own financial support to the SPLC. Both companies also set up campaigns to match employee donations to SPLC two-to-one for a limited time. The donations could total more than $2.5 million. None of those donors mentioned SPLC’s improper labeling of conservative groups.
The SPLC also received $10 million from more than 800 foundations including the Gill Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors between 2013 and 2016 — after the FRC shooting.
