Posted 6:15 PM by Scoobie Davis

Time for Time Magazine to Hire a Fact-Checker
I did this update for those of you who came to this web site because you read John Cloud's Time cover story on Ann Coulter in which he makes the following observation:

Coulter has a reputation for carelessness with facts, and if you Google the words "Ann Coulter lies," you will drown in results. But I didn't find many outright Coulter errors.

If you do a Google search of "Ann Coulter lies," this site and one from blogger Dr. Limerick are the first two sites that pop up. The problem is that both sites document not just errors but numerous outright lies and intentional misrepresentations just in Coulter's book Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right. In fact, it was the work of bloggers who documented many serious and outrageous misrepresentations in Coulter's book Slander that led to an article in the prestigious Columbia Journalism Review on Coulter's deception in the book. The CJR authors cite over twenty items in Coulter's book that "would not pass [a fact-check] without major debate."

In addition, the next two sites (click here and here) that pop up on a Google search are articles from the nonpartisan web site Spinsanity that also document Coulter's lies, errors, and misrepresentations.

I imagine if John Cloud is reading this, he is feeling rather silly. This is pathetic journalism on the part of the alleged liberal MSM. If you feel insulted by the shoddiness of Cloud's reporting, write Time's editors at letters@time.com

On this site, I list some of the more serious lies in Coulter's book Slander. Scroll down to "Ann Coulter’s Slander: The Title is Correct—But for the Wrong Reasons." Also, check out the links section for other sites that document the lies in the book.

Enjoy.

UPDATE: Eric Boehlert of Salon has more on Coulter's lies and Time's shoddy journalism. Also, read Media Matters and Eric Alterman on Time's Coulter story. The Daily Howler also commented on Cloud's shoddy reporting (Also, check out Daily Howler columns from April 18 to April 29, 2005).

One more thing, click here to see another of Coulter's distortions from the book Slander.

UPDATE: Media Matters on John Cloud's attempt at backpeddling. Also, on today's The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly referred to Cloud's Time article as "fair."

Read this blog and give me your thoughts: scoobiedavis77@yahoo.com