The Ron Paul Campaign Slur Article

Below, in it's entirety, is the article referenced in my previous post about the Paul campaign.

The source- news.com.au- is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox News- for whom Neocon lackey and ardent Ron Paul basher Sean Hannity works. I suggest they change the name of the Fox News Channel to something more appropriate- the Neocon News Network, perhaps.

Apparently, the author of the piece is a moron, since he makes the same error repeatedly throughout the article- Ron Paul is a Congressman, you idiot, not a Senator. If you're going to comment on American politics, at least get your basic facts straight.

Small wonder that people hate the press these days. See how many errors, lies, and distortions you can find in the article.
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Senator in 'fake online campaign'
Article from: Mercury- the Voice of Tasmania
By Mark Schliebs
October 12, 2007 12:49pm

A CANDIDATE for the US presidency is being buoyed by a huge online campaign that may be a fake a grassroots movement organised by party staff. YouTube footage of Texan Republican Senator Ron Paul, whose candidacy has been overshadowed in the media by competitors Rudi Giuliani, Fred Thompson and John McCain, has been viewed by tens of thousands of people in the last week.

As of 11am AEST today, a compilation of different clips of Senator Paul was the top rated video of the past 24 hours.

The clip had been viewed nearly 60,000 times since it was uploaded yesterday.

But it was not the only clip of the senator receiving kudos from YouTube users, with another 10 videos appearing in today’s list of the site’s 100 top rated recordings.

Of the 11 featured clips of Senator Paul, only one user uploaded more than one of them in the last 24 hours.

Head of Flinders University’s Department of American Studies Don De Bots told NEWS.com.au that it “sounded like” an astroturfing campaign.

Astroturfing is the term used to describe a fake grassroots campaign, in which members of an organisation create the illusion that “ordinary people” are behind the movement. Professor De Bots said that for a relatively unknown candidate like Senator Paul to have so much prominence online was suspicious.

“I would not put any credibility on those results,” Prof De Bots said.

“I find it terrifically surprising and unlikely (that Senator Paul would attract that level of response).”

Earlier this week, the senator’s campaign team issued a press release that said: “Dr Paul's video channel has been viewed 4.5 million times by supporters who embrace his message of freedom and limited government, making him one of the most-watched presidential candidates in internet history.”

Those figures were based only on clips uploaded by one user, RonPaul2008dotcom, who didn’t have any clips in today’s 100 top rated list.