In which CBS's Sharyl Attkisson alleges that bloggers like myself are paid by "$pecial Interest$" to criticize her autism reporting

Some hours or days before June 9, 2013, Alex Spourdalakis, aged 14 and autistic, was drugged, then stabbed and slashed. He died of his injuries. On June 12, his mother and godmother--the only people responsible for his care-- were charged with his murder. Their names are Dorothy Spourdalakis and Jolanta Agata Skordzka.

On August 30, a CBS reporter, Sharyl Attkisson, published a reprehensible story about Alex's murder, appearing to excuse the actions of the accused, and using without question or comment videotapes from a very suspect source.

Between August 30 and September 3, nine or more bloggers wrote articles condemning Attkisson's reporting¹. On September 1, a group, The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism², launched a Change.org petition, CBS News: Take down the video Behind the Tragedy: Mother Murders Autistic Son

Ms. Attkisson responded to these criticisms on Twitter, on September 3 2013. I have run the tweets together to make Ms. Attkisson's argument easier to follow, interspersed with tweets in response.

On the Autism Murder story: yes, the predictable coordinated astroturf campaign begins! (Watch for key words such as "lies," "crank," etc). Fortunately, I think most have come to recognize it. But for all those who have messaged me, do let CBS know you appreciated the story!

On September 6, @tweek75 wrote

Do you have evidence that critics are part of astroturf campaign? You are coming close to committing libel. @CBSNews.

Disregard my previous question. You don't just imply, but here state that blogs are part of astroturf (i.e., paid by S.I.s)

Ms. Attkisson did not reply to @tweek75.

On September 6, @focusvaccines wrote:

@SharylAttkisson this is how you handle criticism? I didn't call you crank or say lies. I do find your reporting on the topic reprehensible

Ms. Attkisson did not reply to @focusvaccines.

Returning to Ms. Attkisson's tweets of September 3:

another hallmark of astroturf or fake grassroots w/agenda is: they want stories censored entirely, they don't want you to even hear of them. Probably worth repeating from these tweets a few months ago: If you haven't heard the PR phrase "astroturf," please get to know it.

"Astroturfing" is rampant, esp. online (blogs, Facebook, Twitter). It means a special interest pays $$ to disguise itself and write blogs,

On September 6, @tweek75 wrote

@SharylAttkisson Are you implying that blog posts critical of your story on Alex Spourdalakis are paid for by special interests?

Ms. Attkisson did not reply to @tweek75

Returning to Ms. Attkisson's tweets of September 3:

edit Wikipedia entries, have "letters to the editor" published or just post comments to online material to make you believe a disinterested, grassroots party is speaking. Astroturfing is designed to provide the credibility of a non-conflicted source by masking the true source's financial interests in the subject.

On September 3, ‏@tommyxtopher wrote

speaking of " masking sources", Why not disclose Dr. Krigsman's background? Why not disclose long-term psychiatric care offered? Why not report services offered and refused? Finally, why not report that there's no excuse for murdering your child? Each of ‏@tommyxtopher's questions was followed by a link to his article, CBS News Should Retract Report Excusing Mother’s Murder of Autistic Child.

Ms. Attkisson did not reply to @tommyxtopher.

Returning to Ms. Attkisson's tweets of September 3:

One observer wrote: Sometimes 1 individual operates over many personas to give the impression of widespread support for their client's agenda astroturfing can alter public viewpoints and create enough doubt to inhibit action."

Hallmarks of astroturfing can include use of key words such as "crazy," "crank" "nutty" and "pseudo," as well as "petition drives"

On September 5, ‏@wildcatlh wrote,

In other words, Ms. Attkisson, you portray any criticism of your abysmal "journalism" on vaccines to be "astroturfing".

Ms. Attkisson did not reply to ‏@wildcatlh

Returning to Ms. Attkisson's tweets of September 3:

...intended to sway the public from listening to the subject the $special interest$ wishes to disparage. Does any of this sound familiar?

On September 6, ‏@focusvaccines wrote,

familiar? Yes, it sounds like conspiracy theory in place of answering reasonable criticism.

Ms. Attkisson did not reply to @focusvaccines.

On the one hand, Ms. Attkisson is correct: yes, there is such a thing as "astroturfing". And it is always good to be critical (in the sense of "involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc.) about what appears in print or on the web.

On the other hand, in this instance Ms. Attkisson is making allegations about me, and about people I know and respect, both in real life and from long-standing online relationships. I am personally insulted, and outraged on behalf of the other bloggers , but not surprised, given Attkisson's track record.

It is possible that Ms. Attkisson's twitter allegations has something to do with the amount of criticism she has recieved. On September 1, The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism started a Change.org petition, asking CBS to remove the video. As Friday, September 7 ,2013 at 10:00 am PDT, it had 1,737 signatories.

The actual tweets, with screenshots and links to statuses.

On the Autism Murder story: yes, the predictable coordinated astroturf campaign begins! (Watch for key words such as "lies," "crank," etc).