I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you that the passing of Proposition 8 in California is devastating to me, as I'm sure it is to all of you. What is equally devastating to me is the TV and newspaper headlines claiming that African American voters voted in huge margins to pass this measure. This should especially outrage you since there is evidence that this is in fact not true. This article explains why the statistics cited by the news media are highly questionable at best. It is an extremely long article, but you can get the main gist by skimming it:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/7/34645/1235/704/656272
I know this is hard for many people to wrap their heads around, but news media producers (who write most scripts and decide what makes the news) are more invested in providing an interesting story than telling the truth. (I know this firsthand.) If they can find an interesting angle on a story, they will run with it whether it is verified or not. And in the age of media consolidation, everyone just steals stories from each other so it's like a demented game of telephone: misinformation spreads like wildfire. In this case, the consequence is unacceptable. Tell everyone you know about this, don't let them point the finger at innocent people.
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