Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Fake News - Texas - As of 10:30 Pacific Time, KWTX has not corrected or retracted its story.

OFF THE WIRE
agingrebel.com
Texas television station KWTX ran a libelous story last night.
Waco celebrity and self-described journalist Rissa Shaw reported that she had exclusively “obtained classified information about a secret meeting that recently took place between biker gangs which led to confidential law enforcement memos about possible hits on officers stemming from 2015’s deadly biker brawl.
“According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation, within the last two weeks, memos were sent to several local law enforcement agencies about a meeting between two top biker groups – the Bandidos and the Outlaws – seeking revenge against police.”
“The DPS, (Texas Department of Public Safety) the Waco Police Department, the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office and several judges” have confirmed to Shaw that there are ”credible” threats “that the Bandidos and the Outlaws were attempting to hire Bolivian nationals to carry out three hits on officers: Two in Waco, and one in Florida.”
Shaw also reports that she “attempted to make contact with both the Bandidos and the Outlaws through their websites, but had not heard back as of Thursday night.”

No Meeting

Friday morning The Aging Rebel contacted Bill Morian, club counsel for the Bandidos Motorcycle Club for comment on Shaw’s story. Morian uneqivacably denied that there had been a meeting of high ranking members of the Bandidos and the American Outlaws Association within the last month.
The assertion that the two clubs met to plot the assassination of three policemen in two states is both ludicrous and irresponsible. Shaw appears to have simply made the story up. Not a single source in the report is attributed.
At the bottom of her report, below the inframammary accusations, she states, “A spokesman for the DA’s office told KWTX Thursday they know nothing about these memos or threats.
Reporters often make similar accusation against motorcycle clubs. Generally, news outlets are allowed to report even flamboyant lies if a court finds they made a good faith effort to report the truth and they correct their inaccuracies as soon as they become aware of them.
There are exceptions. In 2011 the Vagps Motorcyle club, represented by Los Angeles attorney Joe Yanny, successfully sued officials in Riverside County, California for damages resulting from slanderous statements made by those officials. In general, the only absolute defense against libel is that disputed statement is provably true.
As of 10:30 Pacific Time, KWTX has not corrected or retracted its story.



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