PC World: Top 10 Internet Scandals of All Time (Free Republic & Rathergate)

via MSNBC ^ | 6 FEB 2007 | Dan Tynan, PC World

[Polybius]

The Web is a great way to deliver information, but it's also a great way to expose, spread, or jump-start a scandal.

SNIP

The Net's biggest scandals are nothing if not democratic, touching everyone from the most ordinary individuals to the highest office in the land. Not everyone deserved the notoriety. Some were hapless victims of privacy breaches; others were exposed by hackers or misguided crusaders. But in almost every case, somebody ended up getting fired, sued, or mortally embarrassed.

SNIP

3. Dan Rather Bids a Font Farewell

They were supposed to be the smoking gun the Bush Administration was desperate to conceal: four documents, dating from the early 1970s, that allegedly proved that powerful friends of our current president pulled strings to keep him out of Vietnam and put him into the National Guard. But shortly after 60 Minutes host Dan Rather revealed the documents' existence in September 2004, the gun blew up in his face. Conservative blogs Free Republic, Little Green Footballs, and Power Line questioned the authenticity of the documents--specifically, whether a 1970s-era typewriter could produce the superscript th and curly apostrophes found in the four memos.

Instead of focusing on where W actually was when he was supposed to be serving with the National Guard in 1972, political bloggers immersed themselves in the arcana of typewriter fonts--and the mainstream media followed suit. Twelve days after airing the segment, Dan Rather publicly apologized for the story, saying he could not vouch for the documents' authenticity. A few months later, he quietly left CBS--with the inevitable "gate" permanently appended to his name.

[Polybius]

Free Republic and Rathergate make it to Number 3 in the Top 10 Internet Scandals of All Time as ranked by PC World

[Petronski]

Ping!

[cmsgop]

ALL HAIL BUCKHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!

[ken5050]

Thanks for posting..what we really need is a thread rankign the top 10 scandals ON Free Republic..

Anyone remember "Deep in the Heurtgen Forrest?" LOL

[musicman]

BTTT !!!

[listenhillary]

Global warming make it? How about Bill's impeachment was all about sex?

Off to read the article.

[musicman]

"Coke is It"....

[Unmarked Package]

It was exciting to watch history unfold that night in the blogosphere. It was one of those "I remember where I was when..." moments. Supreme kudos to FReeper Buckhead.

[My2Cents]

he quietly left CBS--with the inevitable "gate" permanently appended to his name

How appropriate. Rather and Nixon, together in infamy.

[COUNTrecount]

Dan Rather Statement On Memos
Newsman No Longer Has Confidence In Authenticity Of Bush Guard Documents

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2004

---

Dan Rather (CBS)



(CBS) Below is the text of CBS News Anchor Dan Rather's statement on the documents purportedly written by President Bush's National Guard commander:

Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a "60 Minutes Wednesday" story about President Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question-and their source-vigorously. And we promised that we would let the American public know what this examination turned up, whatever the outcome.

Now, after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers. That, combined with some of the questions that have been raised in public and in the press, leads me to a point where-if I knew then what I know now-I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question.

But we did use the documents. We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry. It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism.

Please know that nothing is more important to us than people's trust in our ability and our commitment to report fairly and truthfully.

---

He's sorry that they made a mistake in judgment.That's what he's sorry for. Nothing else.

[Yo-Yo]

Instead of focusing on where W actually was when he was supposed to be serving with the National Guard in 1972, political bloggers immersed themselves in the arcana of typewriter fonts--and the mainstream media followed suit.

Still had to get their digs in on Dubya, though.

[Hildy]

even a technical writer can't help himself...Instead of focusing on where W actually was when he was supposed to be serving with the National Guard in 1972

[ken5050]

Kudos again to Buckhead..the "font" of all wisdom...(G)

[Caipirabob]

I've heard "Classy Green Eyed Blonde" turned into something of a scandal when someone found out she was a he.

[don-o]

Take a bow, Jim. Proud to be a supporter!

[Blueflag]

Or "ClassyGreenEyedBlonde"?

[processing please hold]

bump

[Unmarked Package]

"Kudos again to Buckhead..the "font" of all wisdom...(G)"

Ohhhh, [groan] LOL!

[Polybius]

Instead of focusing on where W actually was when he was supposed to be serving with the National Guard in 1972, political bloggers immersed themselves in the arcana of typewriter fonts--and the mainstream media followed suit.

Free Republic focused on whether CBS was using forged documents to advance their anti-Bush political agenda.

CBS was doing just that.

THAT is the story.

[ken5050]

LOL..I remember that one...

[ken5050]

Hey..I thought that wasn't half bad..cut me some slack..(G)

[Mr. Brightside]

Instead of focusing on where W actually was when he was supposed to be serving with the National Guard in 1972, political bloggers immersed themselves in the arcana of typewriter fonts

"Instead of focusing on the allegations, the bloggers focused only on the facts."

[Howlin]

I noticed that, too.

[tobyhill]

Without the exposure of the fraud we would be saying President Kerry right now, exactly what CBS and Rather's intended.

[Howlin]

LOL!

[Howlin]

FOR THE RECORD: CBS Memos Controversy on Free Republic

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1220090/posts

[Plutarch]

Conservative blogs Free Republic...

You'd think that PCWorld would know the difference between a blog and a forum.

[brivette]

Something FR can easily forget.

[Spunky]

"Anyone remember "Deep in the Heurtgen Forrest?" LOL"

I remember him well. He sure had people going for quite awhile.

[centurion316]

Free Republic focused on whether CBS was using forged documents to advance their anti-Bush political agenda.

CBS was doing just that.

Exactly. And the media continue to use falsified and non-existant evidence, sources, and stories to advance their far left agenda. Fortunately, there are places like Free Republic where this sort of deceit can be exposed.

[bannie]

Instead of focusing on where W actually was when he was supposed to be serving with the National Guard in 1972, political bloggers immersed themselves in the arcana of typewriter fonts--and the mainstream media followed suit

The mainstream media was forced to look at the freakin' facts. REGRETFULLY.

This smacks of "accurate but false."

[NonValueAdded]

Don't forget TankerKC's role in the fraud detection.

Here's the historical record: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1212057/posts?page=36#36

[dalight]

Looking at the other scandals. No one has ever taken an accounting of the Foley follies. This story did impact the election and all for what ended up to be a series of chats between consenting adults. Republicans got mired in this "pseudo-scandal" for weeks and lost momentum and control of the congress in the contrails of this.

At the time, it was known that this was timed like the Rathergate plot to have just this effect. Yet there still hasn't been consequences to those who plotted this and carried it out.

The soft underbelly of the conservative movement is that it has no mechanism to deal with the double standard of the left and no stomach to make the left live by the same rules. We just shrug it off and decide thats how the game is played.

Rush has been trying to change this ground, but till we find the way to deal with these situations without becoming the slimy slicks on the left, we cannot win against this sort of slime attack. Tom DeLay still languishes due to false charges, and the cost of this folly is incalculable.

[NonValueAdded]

Indeed ... and perhaps if they said bloggers jump on plot to take down a sitting President it would be far closer to what really happened.

[armymarinemom]

Allrghty!!!!!

[jiggyboy]

I'd put last summer's "fautography" escapades on that list somewhere too. That was 100% driven by the internet.

[Lancey Howard]

Anyone remember "Deep in the Heurtgen Forrest?" LOL

Oh yeah - - but my favorite was quidam. "Trust Starr". Remember all his cryptic posts about "the turtle"?

[I_like_good_things_too]

Great point.

[BossLady]

I agree! It bugs the crap out of me as well! If one of the meida idiots actually visited this site, they would see...it is obviously NOT a blog... (rolling eyes)

[Redleg Duke]

While Buckhead and KCTanker sure deserve all honor and respect, I am personally hurt that my report on the Welstone Memorial Party that I overheard on the Acela Express between Route 128 Station and Grand Central Station wasn't included.

Listening to that Clinton sycophant talking to Clinton and also to his secretary was a real eye-opener, especially when he trashed the RAT governor candidate from Mass. And then several of the FR faithful tried to discredit my report, even though it happened just as I heard and reported! I reported verbatum what that empty suit from Iowa blathered in his speech!

And a little-known factoid...when I got off of the train, my bag, sitting on my roll-behind, fell off...and guess who courteously put it back on for me? You guessed it...the Clinton mouthpiece! :-)

[alnick]

Instead of focusing on where W actually was when he was supposed to be serving with the National Guard in 1972, political bloggers immersed themselves in the arcana of typewriter fonts--and the mainstream media followed suit.

Ah, the old fake but accurate angle.

[Lancey Howard]

Yeah, he/she/it is still registered, believe it or not. Her(?) posts were fairly innocuous, and I don't know if there was any agenda there, but clearly she was a goofball.

[IronJack]

"Deep in the Heurtgen Forrest?"

DITHF. A mnemonic that will live in infamy ...

[Mr. Bird]

quidam was definitely the most entertaining. I would say we (not all, but most of us) were willing consumers of such enticing puzzlements. Quidam would be laughed off the web today, but back then, there was this strange, naive hope that he actually knew more than us.

As for me, I could use a good ***ASH ALERT!!***

[PGalt]

Truth is on the march BUMP!

[Marie Antoinette]

The Tsunami is coming! ;-)

[Shermy]

Thailand?

[Kevmo]

BFLR

[pyx]

Bringing down Dan Rather in Rathergate along with his MSM machine was a LOT bigger scandal than Mark Foley.

[ThomasThomas]

Typewriter fonts are not arcana, one of my favorites is on the D model executive IBM. I only have 5 old manual typewriter so I an only a novice collector.