Andy Martin says Associated Press and CNN continue to distribute disinformation about Senator Barack Obama’s relatives in Kenya

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”

ASSOCIATED PRESS AND CNN CONTINUE TO DISTRIBUTE DISINFORMATION ABOUT SENATOR BARACK OBAMA’S RELATIVES IN KENYA

WHY ARE AMERICAN MEDIA INCAPABLE OF PRINTING ACCURATE FACTS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE?

(CHICAGO)(January 9, 2008) There has been a great deal of disinformation about Senator Barack Obama on the Internet and in mainstream media. One of the reasons for this confusion is that United States news organizations that champion the accuracy of their facts continue to convey disinformation about Obama’s family ties.

The latest disinformation was released today by Associated Press and CNN:

http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/obama-family-in-kenya-watches-us-vote/20080108163509990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Both Associated Press and CNN claim that Sarah Hussein Obama is Barack Obama’s “grandmother.” CNN refers to her as “granny,” which is only an honorific title, not a statement of relation. Sarah Obama was married to Obama’s grandfather, but she is a subsequent wife and is not the mother of his father Barack Obama, Sr. Many cultures refer to “aunties” and “grannies’ as honorific titles, assigned to other relatives and sometimes even friends, neighbors, and stepparents, when they in fact have no basis in blood relation.

Yet AP and CNN continue to avoid disclosing that the “grandmother” to whom they are referring is not the senator’s grandmother in fact.

Mrs. Obama’s picture has appeared in media, erroneously listing her as the senator’s grandmother. Despite all of the controversy over erroneous descriptions in 2007, Associated Press and CNN negligently continue to convey false facts to their audiences in 2008.

Is it any wonder the public will believe anything about Obama, when media are feeding their audiences outright distortions?

Concerning the religious beliefs of the Obama family, it is noteworthy that the uncle quoted in the AP’s Obama story also has a Muslim name. Said Obama. I fully accept that Barack Obama is a practicing Christian today, but why has he gone to such lengths to obscure the religious origins of his family? He could have put all of this confusion to rest last year if only he had made a simple and straightforward disclosure of the undisputed facts.

Finally, although AP was not under any duty to do so, it could have disclosed that Senator Obama said nothing about the chaos in Kenya until he was prompted to do so by ContrarianCommentary.com. Not one word appeared anywhere reflecting Obama’s “concerns” until we chastised him for his prevarication on the post-election breakdown in Kenya.

During the past several days ContrarianCommentary.com has received a bevy of e-mails from persons either claiming to be or seeming to be close to the Obama family or the campaign. It is obvious that ContrarianCommentary.com continues to drive the news agenda where questions about Senator Barack Obama’s past and family background are concerned, and that the Obama operation pays intense attention to our reporting and opinion commentary.
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Chicago-based Internet journalist, broadcaster and media critic Andy Martin is the Executive Editor and publisher of ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2007. Martin covers regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He is currently a candidate for U. S. Senator from Illinois. AndyforUSSenator.com. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Columns also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Comments? E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com. Media contact: (866) 706-2639. Web sites: ContrarianCommentary.com.