Here's the email I wrote to FiveThirtyEight.
Hello FiveThirtyEight folks,
Thanks for running such a great site -- I've really come to depend on your great writing and analysis for this campaign. But I wanted to alert you about a misleading ad that's running on your site.
The ad is in favor of California's Proposition Eight. Although it contains no specific claims (just messages like, "how does Prop 8 affect me? You might be surprised"), it links to ProtectMarriage.com, a site that contains numerous false claims about the ballot proposition. Among them:
- Schools are required to "teach" gay marriage (this is untrue; the Sacramento Supreme Court ruled in case 34-2008-00017366 that there was no such requirement)
- Parents will be unable to object (this is also untrue; the claim is based on a case in Massachusetts, where the law is considerably different)
- Churches may be sued for objecting to gay marriages (there is no basis for this made-up claim)
I know you guys do a lot of great work, and I've come to rely on fivethirtyeight.com for rigorous, accurate news about the election. But I worry that linking to fabrications will reflect poorly on your trustworthiness. I hope you'll do your readers the favor of removing ads that link to untrue information.
And thanks again for your excellent explanations of this year's election. I couldn't get through it without you.
Take care,
Matt
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