Author Archives: HWI_Admin

Stop HumaneWatcher responds to ag industry hatchet piece

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Kevin Fulton runs a 2,800-acre grassfed cattle ranch in Litchfield, Neb., where he chairs the first HSUS Agriculture Council. Photo credit: All Animals / HSUS

Kevin Fulton runs a 2,800-acre grassfed cattle ranch in Litchfield, Neb., where he chairs the first HSUS Agriculture Council.
Photo credit: All Animals / HSUS

Recently an agriculture industry trade journal called Beef Producer, which supplies content to 18 state publications for Farm Progress agriculture information service, ran an opinion piece that drew all its talking points from one source: Rick Berman. Under the headline “HSUS Shows Continued Pattern Of Dishonest Behavior,” editor Alan Newport quoted misinformation from HumaneWatch and compared the Humane Society of the United States to thieves and rapists.

We aren’t going to repeat this travesty of journalism here, but we will repost the response from Stop HumaneWatcher Kevin Fulton, who knows Newport personally and rightly took him to task for the hatchet job he published without bothering to talk to anyone at HSUS or even check their website. Fulton runs a 2800-acre grassfed cattle ranch in Litchfield, Neb., where he chairs the first HSUS Agriculture Council.

Alan,

I must say I was disappointed in your December 13th piece attacking HSUS. It’s one thing to oppose something and substantiate it with facts but when you perpetuate lies to make your position, it suggests that you yourself are untrustworthy based on your very own reasoning! Your rant shows a true lack of integrity and professionalism. Analogies using liars, thieves, and rapists and implying that animal advocates somehow belong in the same category is a delusional thought. It would behoove you to understand that the HSUS is not a group of bureaucrats sitting in an office somewhere but rather millions of supporters at the grassroots level, including farmers like myself. You have unfairly attacked all of us with your absurd implications and we take great offense to that.

You’ve been to my home and toured my farm, and you know that I am a real farmer. I’ve heard all the anti-ag and other rhetoric about HSUS for years, and I’ve thoroughly done my research and investigated the sources. I’ve been to HSUS headquarters and traveled with their leadership on numerous occasions. Do you think I would align with an organization that is against animal agriculture since my sole livelihood depends on that? Ninety five percent of their membership eats animal products! Most of their members and staff own animals yet you claim they are opposed to animal agriculture and animal ownership. How do you possibly reach such idiotic conclusions?

Like you, Wayne Pacelle has also been to my home and toured my farm. I’ve worked with him on numerous projects. My experiences with HSUS leadership are first hand. I was always taught to think for myself instead of blindly following the status quo. Your info comes right from the talking points of Rick Berman, who is a highly discredited lobbying and public relations hack in Washington, D.C. He’s no farmer, and the only connect he has to farming is that he takes money from certain farming interests to try to discredit HSUS. And they are naive enough to fund his smear campaigns instead of standing up and taking ownership in their own problems and addressing the issues. HSUS has a number of farmers working on their staff in leadership positions. Ask Rick Berman how many farmers his bogus organization has on staff.

HSUS makes it plain that it is about protecting all animals, and that it has never served, and never claimed to serve as a pass-through organization for animal shelters. HSUS does do a lot for shelters, but it’s always been more than that. Any 5th grader could find their website and substantiate this.

I’ve been an HSUS member for a number of years now. I get their publications and have seen livestock farmers profiled in their magazine, annual reports, daily blogs, on their website and in brochures and other promotional material. In fact we are promoting several ag related events right here in Nebraska in just the month of February alone where farmers and their products will be showcased. We have Agricultural Councils in six states now with others waiting to be announced in the near future. This is an idea that I brought to the organization in 2010 and they embraced my suggestion. I now proudly serve as chairperson of the first Ag Council which was formed here in Nebraska. These councils are made up of prominent farmers and leaders in the sustainable ag community that you are likely familiar with. Have you bothered to reach out to any of these farmers like any competent journalist would?

You did to HSUS supporters what the most zealous animal advocates do to farmers like me – you misrepresented the situation, either because you’ll say anything to denigrate them, or because you just didn’t take the time to research it yourself. I hope it was the latter case, and I hope you’ll be more rigorous about this in the future. You’ve always struck me as a serious advocate for sustainable agriculture but maybe I have mis-judged you. I’m not fearful of anyone who advocates that animals should be allowed to move and not be imprisoned in a tiny crate. This is basic animal husbandry. Extreme confinement systems represent a fanatical mindset and most farmers like myself do not want to be associated with these operations at all.

Lastly, I will invite you to the upcoming Nebraska Sustainable Ag Conference here in Nebraska on February 13-14th where Wayne Pacelle will be giving the keynote presentation and talking about the importance of farmers and animals in our sustainable farming systems. http://www.nebsusag.org/conference.shtml It will also serve as a gathering for HSUS Ag Council members from various states to kickoff this event. Of course you would have to be open to the truth to benefit from this invitation. That would likely challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone. But any reputable journalist would welcome the opportunity to get the truth.

Sincerely,

Kevin Fulton
Fulton Farms
Litchfield, NE

Don’t let Berman steal Christmas from animals

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During December, the “season of giving,” many people donate to charitable causes like the Humane Society of the United States.  It’s no surprise then that Rick Berman — Washington DC’s best-known PR hit man — has purchased a slew of December attack ads smearing the HSUS and its president, Wayne Pacelle. These ads are nothing more than Berman’s clumsy ploy on behalf of those who profit from abusing animals.

Share this graphic to let your friends know that HumaneWatch is nothing but a clumsy ploy by DC’s best-known PR hit man on behalf of those who profit from abusing animals.

Share this graphic to let your friends know HumaneWatch is nothing but a clumsy ploy by DC’s best-known PR hit man on behalf of those who profit from abusing animals.

The HSUS holds a 4-star rating with Charity Navigator, the highest possible ranking. The BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance certifies that the HSUS meets all 20 standards for charitable accountability. Worth Magazine named the HSUS one of the 10 most fiscally-reponsible charities. And Guidestar’s Philanthropedia website voted the HSUS as the top high-impact animal protection group in the country.

The HSUS has almost 60 years of experience to back up its standing as the nation’s most effective animal protection organization. The HSUS  top 13 achievements of 2013 demonstrate exactly how donations help animals.

Although the HSUS provides grants to other animal welfare organizations, that is not and never has been its purpose. The HSUS has its own programs and is not a pass-through organization. Supporters of the HSUS expect it to tackle the root causes of cruelty and defend all animals, and that is what the HSUS has been doing since 1954.

Opponents of the HSUS want them to focus solely on mopping up the damage caused by Rick Berman’s clients, rather than confronting and stopping industrial animal abuse. In addition to this important advocacy work, the HSUS provides hands-on care for more animals than any other group –- dogs like Ricky Bobby and Stella, rescued from a North Carolina puppy mill –- and it drives transformational change to prevent cruelty before animals end up in distress.

Here are just a few areas where the HSUS helps animals:

  • Aiding shelters when natural disasters and cruelty cases overwhelm their capacity to respond.
  • Leading the nation’s most ambitious projects to reduce pet overpopulation and thereby reduce pressure on local shelters and rescues.
  • Providing sanctuary, rehabilitation, veterinary treatment, and other direct care for more than 100,000 animals in 2013 alone.
  • Combatting puppy mills, organized animal fighting, wildlife poaching, commercial seal slaughter and many other large-scale animal abuses.
  • Managing a coast-to-coast network of nature preserves.
  • Working to end the suffering of street dogs in countries around the globe.
  • Combatting the trade in wildlife and fighting for endangered species here and abroad.
  • Joining with corporations like McDonald’s, Safeway, Kroger, Campbell’s, Kraft, and dozens more, to reduce the suffering of farm animals in their supply chains.
  • Supporting sustainable family farmers who answer to higher animal welfare standards – both in the United States and developing world.

See for yourself what the HSUS does at humanesociety.org.

So, who is this corporate front-man behind the attack on the HSUS?

Rick Berman is a Washington, D.C., lobbyist and PR operative. He learned his trade as a paid defender of the tobacco industry, and never changed. Independent news investigations have repeatedly exposed his underhanded schemes to protect corporate profits by attacking public interest groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and HSUS. You can find a list of exposes here, including coverage by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, ABC, CBS, NBC, Bloomberg, Salon, and many more.

Berman’s nonprofit schemes are the subject of a pending complaint with the IRS, and the rating agency Charity Navigator has issued donor fraud advisory alerts against several of his front groups.

If you follow the money trail, you’ll find more than 90 percent of the funds that flow into Berman’s web of tax-exempt organizations go to him or his for-profit PR firm. That’s a jaw dropping figure, almost unheard of in our nation. It’s a self-enrichment scheme of the worst kind.

When it comes to animal cruelty, there are only two sides: You’re against it, or you defend it. You know where the HSUS stands, and you know where Berman stands. Show Rick Berman that you won’t let him steal Christmas from animals!

Smear Campaign Tools Exposed: Innuendo

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We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it’s said and done
We haven’t told you a thing…
— Don Henley, Dirty Laundry

Although libel and defamation are exceedingly difficult to prove in court, even the most unethical front groups will avoid unnecessary (and costly) litigation.

That’s why organizations like Richard Berman’s “HumaneWatch” avoid direct statements — which are legally actionable — and instead couch their false accusations in sly winks and innuendo — which generally are not.

The easiest way to turn a libelous claim into an innuendo is to phrase it as a question. Consider these headlines and comments from HumaneWatch:

  • Is HSUS engaging in a little creative accounting? (Oct. 21, 2011)
  • Is HSUS purposely hiding the ball and diverting millions to a purpose that its ads don’t address? (Feb. 19, 2011)
  • HSUS: Token help for pet shelters? (Feb. 27, 2012)
  • Is HSUS really just a business? (Feb. 25, 2010)
  • Is HSUS becoming a political liability? (Oct. 28, 2010)
  • Hot air from HSUS? (Jun. 11, 2010)
  • Would Wayne Pacelle approve of shooting this horse? (Aug. 28, 2013)
  • Is Wayne Pacele the Bernie Madoff of the charity world? (Apr. 5, 2013)
  • Is HSUS taking advantage of Americans’ goodwill toward cats and dogs? (Mar. 17, 2011)
  • Is HSUS up to no good in Nebraska? (Nov. 13, 2010)
  • Is HSUS hiding the ball? (Nov. 8, 2010)
  • Another ALF Supporter in HSUS’s Leadership? (Feb. 11, 2012)
  • Is HSUS really on the side of the 99 percent of Americans who aren’t vegan? (Nov. 13, 2010)
  • Did HSUS violate the lobbying disclosure act? (Nov. 28, 2011)
  • Where does [the HSUS’] money go? (Jun. 27, 2013)

The pages of HumaneWatch are crawling with disingenuous question marks; they are scattered through their blog posts and op-eds like a bad case of worms. But rarely do they include an answer to go with their leading questions. They leave their readers to fill in the blanks, providing them just enough misleading information, vague rumor, and unrelated finger-pointing to ensure that those blanks are filled in with the wrong answer.

Please feel free to save these graphics to your hard drive, link to them directly on this site, or share on social media.

http://www.stophumanewatch.org/blog/innuendo

View and share previous weeks’ graphics from our Resources page.

Smear Campaign Tools Exposed: Phony Op-Eds

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I devised a method of cleaning off the page opposite the editorial, which became the most important in America… and thereon I decided to print opinions, ignoring facts.
— Herbert Bayard Swope, creator of the op-ed page

Op-eds and letters to the editor were intended to reflect the opinions of the American public.

Unfortunately, not only are these voices dwindling, they are being increasingly co-opted by corporate interests.

The pages of prominent newspapers are littered with propaganda from Richard Berman’s industry-funded front groups — including the Center for Consumer Freedom (also known as “HumaneWatch”), the Center for Union Facts, the Employment Policies Institute Foundation, the American Beverage Institute, and the Humane Society for Shelter Pets. These sham organizations subvert op-eds and letters to the editor, displacing opinions of real people with the PR spin of Berman’s corporate donors.

These are not opinions. They are advertisements and spin, purchased by corporations, professionally written by Berman and Company, and disseminated by unwary dupes in the media.

This deceptive tactic is another form of sockpuppetry. A Berman and Company employee masquerades as a concerned member of the public, but is, in fact, mouthing the words of its corporate client. It’s a lie that Berman took to the level of farce when the millionaire posed as a blue collar worker in an ad undermining worker benefits.

Opinion pieces are a key means by which Richard Berman funnels “nonprofit” donations into his personal and corporate bank accounts, in what former IRS director Marcus Owens called a “clear violation of the requirements for tax-exempt status.” Since 2006, Berman and Company has charged its “nonprofits” hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, flooding media outlets with more than 1600 deceptive op-eds and letters to the editor.

When you see a phony op-ed or letter to the editor from Richard Berman, Will Coggin, J. Justin Wilson, Sarah Longwell, or another Berman and Company employee, please call attention to the fact that the publication is being exploited by a notorious front group for corporate interests.

Share the graphic below. And let the public know that these “opinion pieces” are nothing more than paid propaganda defending the unsafe, unethical, and inhumane practices practices of Richard Berman’s clients.

Please feel free to save these graphics to your hard drive, link to them directly on this site, or share on social media.

http://www.stophumanewatch.org/blog/op-eds

View and share previous weeks’ graphics from our Resources page.

Smear Campaign Tools Exposed: Sockpuppet Theater

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By trying to hide your identity when you leave a comment, you’re trying to influence everyone else’s perception of how credible the article is by pretending to be a disinterested third party who’s just offering a fair critique.
–David Martosko, Director of Research, Center for Consumer Freedom

Poor Richard Berman. It’s hard to drum up support for unpopular causes like destroying wages and benefits for teachers, convincing pregnant women to consume toxic mercury, and downplaying the significance of having loved ones killed by drunk driving.

But of all the atrocities Richard Berman is paid to defend, perhaps the most repugnant is animal cruelty.

So what does the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) do when they can’t find an unethical college graduate or industry shill to pose as an expert and spout junk science? When there’s nobody to take up the cause of brutalizing animals or demonizing their rescuers, HumaneWatch falls back on a particularly dirty tactic: sockpuppets.

In real life, a sockpuppet is a mockery, a figure of inanimate cloth and button eyes that mouths whatever words the wearer says. It is a fictional persona worn over the hand of the puppetmaster.

On the internet, sockpuppets are more sinister. They are fake personalities masquerading as real people, and they are used to manipulate others into thinking there is credible support for an idea. For example, someone seeking to discredit the Humane Society of the United States could pose as a veterinarian, relying on the authority that comes with a vet’s education and experience without actually possessing those qualities. That’s precisely what HumaneWatch chief David Martosko did in order to deceive animal lovers.

But manipulation is just the tip of the iceberg. Martosko also assumed the identity of a fictional activist for much more nefarious purposes. He used this identity to compromise the accounts of bloggers, politicians, authors, and activists who oppose the abuses of CCF’s corporate clients, spying on them, monitoring them, and in at least two instances, attempting to incite violent or criminal comments to use against those individuals.

To David Martosko’s disappointment, the animal welfare community was more principled than CCF’s employees.

And Martosko? He’s now the U.S. Political Editor for a conservative tabloid, The Daily Mail.

Please feel free to save these graphics to your hard drive, link to them directly on this site, or share on social media.

http://www.stophumanewatch.org/blog/sockpuppets

View and share previous weeks’ graphics from our Resources page.