The Washington Post opinion page editor, Fred Hiatt, has made strong statements about the strength and quality of fact-checking for the columnists within his pages.
told by editorial page editor Fred Hiatt — that multiple editors had checked Will’s sources,
we don’t have lax standards for accuracy … in general, we do careful fact checking.
Despite these statements, when it comes to energy and climate discussions, fossil-foolish commentators seem able to perpetuate truthiness and deception with abandon. These deceptions and falsehoods, have led to criticisms and corrections from across the web and even traditional media outlets, Washington Post staff, and the numerous Balancing letters (including today) and OPEDs responding to the the Faux pieces. (E.g, running a Faux and Balanced opinion page). The most egregious examples, this year, have come from George Will, who seems incapable of publishing a column without deceptiveness and, almost without exception, factual errors and falsehoods. Today’s Will yet again peddles truthiness, truthiness with issues open to fact-checking and challenge.
In Sunbeams from Cucumbers, Will writes:
Its chief executive says: “If the Japanese can design [an] affordable, well-designed hybrid, then, doggone it, the American people should be able to do the same.” Yes they can — if the American manufacturer can do what Toyota does with the Prius: Sell its hybrid without significant, if any, profit
The latest information from the Japanese business news (information available in English as early as 28 April) is that Toyota will make a profit in the range of ten percent on the sale of every Prius (down from about 15 percent due to competition from Honda’s Insight). In 2008,
Toyota appears to have earned gross profits of around Yen100 billion (US $1 billion) on its sales of second-generation Prius hybrids last year. Toyota’s margin on the sales fo the next-generation 2010 Prius are projected to be in the single digits in the first year.
What do those diligent Washington Post fact-checkers do with their time when it comes to George Will opinion pieces, play checkers? After all, they can’t seem to figure out when Will makes the simplest of mistakes.
Hmmm … perhaps the issue is “significant”. $2000 or so in profit from each car sold (and a $billion or so in profits per year) is, evidently, not a “significant … profit”. If that is the case, really would like to know how the “fact checkers” define “significant”.
See:
- Treehugger, Honda & Toyota Making About $3,100 in Profits Per Hybrid
- Alex Pasternack, Huffington Post, George Will Disses the Prius, Obama and the Facts
- Steve Benen, Washington Monthly
As well, note the rarity of Post (and other newspapers) running corrections of George Will’s errors. Perhaps they are concerned that running corrections would take more print space than the columns themselves?
4 responses so far ↓
1 A reason to open the Washington Post … // May 10, 2009 at 12:50 pm
[…] regular readers of these pages (these electrons) are aware, there are many , Many, MANY reasons to find frustration in The Washington Post opinion pages which are, on […]
2 Post Promotes Debunked Deception re Hummers vs Prius … // Jun 22, 2009 at 9:22 pm
[…] with substantive backing required from the editor before it went into print. Watching the Post editorial page’s (mis)handling of George Will’s Will-ful deception re energy and climate issues, a question emerges: Is it […]
3 Fred Hiatt jumps the shark in dragging Washington Post into the sewers: Publishes Sarah Palin OPED contradicted by links within the OPED // Dec 8, 2009 at 11:08 pm
[…] not just by publishing George Will’s repeated deceptions and false statements, but with Hiatt’s absurd claims of quality factchecking and arrogant defense of publishes these falsehoo… … the faux and balanced conception that the occasional publication of letters directly […]
4 Somewhere Between Falsehoods and Science, Fred Hiatt finds truth? // Dec 18, 2009 at 2:19 pm
[…] oped filled with deceit and disinformation about energy and climate issues. After all, George will-ful deceit Will finds his home on these pages along with others who peddle misleading material on these critical […]