The Associated Press is leading an anti-gun disinformation campaign

The 175-year-old journalism behemoth is showing its anti-gun bias by pushing out fake news to its thousands of members.

I had several run-ins with irate Associated Press editors over the years when I ran my old pro-gun website.

They would see some AP content — either photos or stories — on my blog and then they’d pick up the phone and scream.

“How dare you steal our photos,” one of them hissed at me through clenched teeth. I remember he was actually seething and having trouble pronouncing his words because he was so angry.

Of course they’d change their tune when they learned I worked for a daily newspaper, which was an AP member, and that my website was fully supported by this newspaper, so I was well within my rights to use their content.

However, their initial message was always very clear — the AP didn’t want its content used on any pro-gun platform — period.

In the journalism world, no other news agency wields as much power as the Associated Press.

Its 1,300 member newspapers and broadcasters pay the AP millions of dollars annually for access to the AP wire.

And to be clear, the AP’s editors determine what stories will be sent out on this wire, and what stories won’t.

This puts the AP in an incredibly powerful position. They alone determine what is and what isn’t national news. Go look for AP stories about an armed citizen defending themselves with a firearm and you’ll see what I mean.

In addition, since 1953 the AP has published the “AP Style Book,” which is updated every year.

This manual tells working journalists what words they should use to describe certain news events.

For example, last year the AP recommended that its members should replace the word “riot” with “unrest” — I am not kidding.

I’m sure some of the small businessmen who lost everything in these deadly “unrests” appreciated the distinction.

This leads me to the AP’s latest error — and it’s a serious one.

Two days ago they sent out this story on the AP wire titled: “Reynolds signs gun bill easing background checks, permits,” which announced that Iowa had become the latest state to legalize Constitutional Carry.

The new law also allows Iowa residents to conduct private gun sales without mandatory background checks or other government interference.

In the top of the story, the AP correspondent wrote this:

“As of July 1, people can buy handguns from private non-licensed sources such as websites, gun shows and individuals without a permit or background check.

Again with the mythical website, where you can allegedly buy a firearm and have it shipped to your home without a background check?

Really?

Everyone knows no website actually exists. It’s pure fiction — a total lie created by anti-gunners.

However, there are some anti-gun myths that just won’t die — especially when the Associated Press is promulgating them to its thousands of members.

The story also included this:

“The bill passed the Iowa Senate with Republican votes only on March 22 at the same as a man was shooting customers at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who bought the Ruger AR-556 he used six days before the attack, is facing murder charges.”

Of course the story never mentioned that Alissa had passed a background check when he purchased the AR, because that fact would not have supported the overall tone of the story, which is decidedly anti-gun.

Unfortunately, the story was picked up by thousands of newspapers, websites and television stations in the United States and overseas.

That amount of disinformation is difficult if not impossible for truthtellers to overcome, and these are just a few recent examples of the AP’s bias. There are many, many more.

I have no doubt the AP will read this column, because their news alerts are incredibly effective.

I wonder if they will correct their story, because a correction or a clarification is certainly merited, but I won’t hold my breath.

The media has always had a double standard when it comes to gun stories, even when their errors are glaring like in this story.

Quite frankly they just don’t care.

That’s what an anti-gun bias does. They believe they don’t need to get the facts right because guns are evil, as is anyone who owns one.

About the best we can do is call out their bias when we see it, and hope that some day it will change.

As always, thanks for your time.

Lee

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