Media Matters Propagates Bill Maher Falsehood
On September 15, 2006, HBO’s Bill Maher claimed that CBS Evening News would not allow him to discuss religion on its "Free Speech" segment.
Media Matters jumped on the story and splashed it on the top of its front page.
The problem is that the story wasn’t true. The evidence suggests that Maher simply made up the story. Eventually Maher issued an apology: "If I or my representatives got it wrong about how the ‘Free Speech’ segment of the ‘CBS Evening News’ is, sorry, our bad. I’m ready, willing and able to speak about the topic I originally suggested."
By prominently displaying the bogus story on its front page, Media Matters propagated the falsehood. After Maher’s apology and retraction, Media Matters promptly removed the story from the top of its front page. Luckily, we already grabbed a screen shot. See?
Busted.
