re: #47 Pie-onist Overlord

David Sirota still promoting Buzzfeed as the epitome of journalistic integrity and fact-checking.

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Sirota knows a lot about integrity //

from 1999

For Evans, who has mounted a mostly issue-driven and promising campaign until now, the challenge is no longer convincing voters that he should be the next Mayor of Philadelphia. His challenge is convincing Philadelphians he should stay in the race.

The dirty trick played on rival candidate John White was a cowardly and craven act. The fake Web site looked for all intents and purposes like the cyberspace home for White’s mayoral campaign.

The site features White’s picture, his biography and a “message from John.” It also featured, prominently, this supposed quote from White: “The black and the brown, if we unite, we’re going to control this city.”

The race-baiting quote is a bad English translation of an interview with White published in Spanish in the weekly newspaper Al Dia. What White actually told the newspaper was the standard minorities-are-disenfranchised-and-should-vote message.

Last week Evans said deputy campaign manager David Sirota knew Robert Richman, who apparently registered and paid for the fake Web site. Sirota and Richman were college dormmates and, Evans said, had talked about the Web site.

Evans has fired Sirota. Campaign manager John Fugett has taken some responsibility for this cyber slur and has resigned.