How Breitbart News Spreads Lies About Planned Parenthood And Birth Control

The Outlet Run By Trump’s New Hire Has Regularly Gone To Extremes To Attack Reproductive Rights

Before Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon was hired as the new chief executive for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign, the outlet was responsible for pushing a continuing campaign of misinformation about Planned Parenthood, abortion, and birth control. Under Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart News writers have compared Planned Parenthood providers to Nazis, staunchly defended discredited anti-choice activist David Daleiden, and claimed contraceptives make women “unattractive and crazy.”

Trump Campaign Announced Appointment Of Breitbart News’ Bannon As Chief Executive

Trump Campaign Names Breitbart News Chairman Steve Bannon As Chief Executive. In an August 17 announcement, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign named Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon its new “chief executive.” As CNN.com reported:

Trump has named Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News and a former investment banker, to the post of chief executive and promoted Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser and pollster to his campaign, to the position of campaign manager, Conway confirmed to CNN early Wednesday morning.

The addition of Bannon -- known for his brass-knuckled demeanor and his website's sharp tone -- came hours after reports surfaced that Roger Ailes, the recently ousted head of Fox News, will begin to advise Trump as he prepares for the presidential debates. The influence of both men lays the groundwork for unleashing Trump this fall from the more traditional presidential candidate framework, which Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort's leadership was brought on to create. [CNN.com, 8/17/16]

Breitbart News Used Extreme References To Nazis And Genocide To Attack Planned Parenthood

Breitbart News Reporter Alleged Planned Parenthood Clinics Were Committing A “Sinister Pattern Of Black Genocide.” In February of 2016, Breitbart News published an article by conservative commentator Crystal Wright alleging that Planned Parenthood was targeting black women by placing clinics in predominately black neighborhoods. Wright also attacked NARAL board member Renee Bracey Sherman, writing that Sherman was “like so many other black Americans who show a slavish support for abortion” despite the “sinister pattern of black genocide.” From Breitbart News:

Just in time for Black History Month, a black woman writing in the Huffington Post has advocated that the best way for Black Lives to Matter is for black women to abort their babies.

[...]

In a predominately black neighborhood in the Northeast of Washington, DC Planned Parenthood is currently renovating a 27,000 square foot “health clinic” located at 1225 Fourth Street, NE to perform abortions. The converted industrial warehouse, is adjacent to the Twin Rivers DC Public Charter School, and directly across the street from its middle school. The DC government approved the clinic’s location in 2015 and the DC zoning board granted all of the required permits without the benefit of a Public Hearing

Even more shocking, the school APPROVED of the facility’s location despite protests and concerns from residents in the community. It’s worth noting that Planned Parenthood’s mega-abortion facility is located next door to a school, in a Black neighborhood, in a city governed by Democrats. This sinister pattern of black genocide repeats itself.

Like so many other black Americans who show a slavish support for abortion and Democrats, I’m sure Sherman has no knowledge of Sanger or Planned Parenthood’s nefarious history. I also wonder if Sherman knows that 79% of Planned Parenthood’s surgerical (sic) abortion clinics are strategically placed in black or Hispanic communities. [Breitbart News, 2/6/16]

Breitbart News Editor Attacked Planned Parenthood For Having “Racist, Pro-Nazi Roots.” In a July 2015 article, Breitbart News editor-at-large John Nolte wrote that it was “proper” to “reexamine the racist, pro-Nazi roots of Planned Parenthood, an organization found by vile racist Margaret Sanger.” Nolte also pushed a debunked right-wing claim that the Planned Parenthood founder was a “eugenicist” who “praised Nazi Germany’s sterilization policies” -- a fact he said was “just not widely reported by the same media that obsesses over a [Confederate] flag.” From Breitbart News:

Led by a mainstream media in full-emotional racial-blackmail mode, we just had a national debate about the Confederate Flag. With the news that Planned Parenthood is trafficking in dead baby parts — news our mainstream media is almost certain to ignore or downplay — the time seems proper to reexamine the racist, pro-Nazi roots of Planned Parenthood, an organization found by vile racist Margaret Sanger, an organization that receives nearly a half-billion dollars a year in taxpayer dollars.

[...]

The Confederate Flag is down. The taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood still stands, primarily in black neighborhoods — just as its racist founder planned so many years ago. [Breitbart News, 7/14/15; PolitiFact, 10/5/15]

Breitbart News: The “World Lost Its Collective Mind” Over Death Of Lion But Ignored Planned Parenthood "Carving Up Murdered Babies … Mengele-Style.” Former Breitbart News editor-at-large Ben Shapiro used the 2015 death of Cecil the lion -- a well-known Zimbabwean animal icon killed by a recreational game hunter -- as a way to attack Planned Parenthood. In a July 2015 article, Shapiro criticized the fact that “the world lost its collective mind” over Cecil’s death but media “rush to ignore the fact that Democrats now force American taxpayers to foot the bill for hundreds of thousands of murders of babies by organizations including Planned Parenthood.” Shapiro also compared Planned Parenthood providers to infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, alleging that Planned Parenthood was “carving up murdered babies to sell their body parts, Mengele-style”:

The American media have spilled copious amounts of ink and spent enormous amounts of bandwidth ginning up the mob over the death of Cecil, a lion. Meanwhile, the major media rush to ignore the fact that Democrats now force American taxpayers to foot the bill for hundreds of thousands of murders of babies by organizations, including Planned Parenthood; the media believe that a dead lion ought to trump Planned Parenthood carving up murdered babies to sell their body parts, Mengele-style. Celebrities who weep over Cecil, a lion, cheer when women across the United States decide to suck their baby’s brains into a sink so that Planned Parenthood can distribute its kidneys for purposes of research.

[...]

But never mind. A nasty guy illegally killed a lion 9,000 miles away. By all means, let’s go nuts. After all, it makes the left feel good to weep ceaselessly over the illegal poaching of anthropomorphized wild beasts even as they facilitate evil against actual human beings all over the planet, including right here in the United States. [Breitbart News, 7/30/15]

Breitbart Writers Have Also Carried Water For Discredited Anti-Choice Activist David Daleiden

As Recently As August 17, Breitbart Alleged That Planned Parenthood Was Attacking Daleiden “To Suppress Its Baby Parts Scandal.” In the summer of 2015, David Daleiden and his anti-choice group, the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a series of deceptively edited videos alleging Planned Parenthood profited from donated fetal tissue. Although Planned Parenthood has consistently been cleared of any wrongdoing, Breitbart News frequently promoted Daleiden’s allegations. As recently as August 17, Breitbart News’ Dr. Susan Berry criticized Planned Parenthood’s latest lawsuit against David Daleiden to prevent the University of Washington “from revealing information about the abortion business’ involvement in its fetal parts research program.” Berry argued that the move was “Planned Parenthood’s latest attempt to suppress its baby parts scandal” before concluding her article with an extended quote from Daleiden’s lawyer, Peter Breen. [Breitbart, 8/17/16]

Breitbart News Promoted A Fox News Special On David Daleiden’s Allegations That Was Described By A CMP-Affiliated Extremist As “Very Much On Our Side.” A September 1 Breitbart News article promoted a Fox News special focusing on Daleiden’s allegations. The article’s author, Austin Ruse, also quoted known anti-choice extremist Troy Newman, a founding board member of CMP, who said he believed the special would “be very much on our side” and would show “how CMP came about and how it is rocking the world in exposing the ‘dark harvest’ of baby parts.” From Breitbart News:

Fox News is reportedly set to air Planned Parenthood: The Hidden Harvest on September 4 at 10 p.m., which will shine a light on the controversial undercover videos that have gone viral.

The hour-long report will look inside the undercover campaign of David Daleiden and his Center for Medical Progress, how they trained themselves to be experts in at least talking about the arcane world of baby-parts harvesting, and how they wormed their way into a position of trust with senior managers of Planned Parenthood and tissue procurement companies who buy from them.

Troy Newman, president of the pro-life group Operation Rescue, helped hatch the plan with Daleiden more than three years ago. Newman, who is also on the board of Daleiden’s non-profit group, told Breitbart News, “I expect the documentary will be very much on our side. This information really made [Fox News anchor] Shannon Bream emotional.”

He said the documentary would look at “how CMP came about and how it is rocking the world in exposing the ‘dark harvest’ of baby parts. It will be about David and the people around him and how we hatched the plan to go undercover to uncover these atrocities.” [Breitbart News, 9/1/15]

Breitbart News Defended Daleiden And Accused Pro-Choice Advocates Of Trying To Distract “The Public” From Seeing “What Really Happens In Planned Parenthood Facilities.” After widespread media criticism of Daleiden’s deceptively edited videos, Ruse -- a Breitbart News regular contributor -- accused the media of trying to “throw the public off the scent of what really happens in Planned Parenthood facilities” by trying to “shift attention to Daleiden and smear him as best they can.” Ruse attacked a Daily Beast profile of Daleiden as a “hit piece” that was “full of innuendo, even lies,” to bolster his argument that media can’t “defend against what these videos reveal, so their only option is to go after the messengers”:

The long knives have come out for videographer David Daleiden, no doubt because his expose of Planned Parenthood’s trafficking in baby body parts has cut to close the bone.

Abortion supporters are trying desperately to throw the public off the scent of what really happens in Planned Parenthood facilities and they certainly do not want people to look at Daleiden’s video anymore, because views are up to 2 million and each viewing cuts against the reputation and credibility, not to mention the business model of Planned Parenthood.

No, they want to shift attention to Daleiden and smear him as best they can.

[...]

The investigations carried out by [anti-choice activist] Lila Rose and the one just released by David Daleiden show what an increasing number of Americans are coming to see as the inhumane and callously indifferent grisly work of groups like Planned Parenthood. It is nearly impossible to defend against what these videos reveal, so their only option is to go after the messengers. [Breitbart News, 7/16/15]

Breitbart News Writers Have Spread Misinformation About The Effects Of Contraceptives

Breitbart News Writer Alleged That Exposure To “Contraceptives In Drinking Water” Might Be Linked To “Infertility Among Those Who Want To Have Babies.” Breitbart News’ Austin Ruse fear mongered about a recent U.S. Geological Survey report that found trace amounts of common birth control hormones in U.S. water sources. Citing studies about hormone exposure leading to infertility in a breed of Japanese fish, Ruse bizarrely extrapolated that humans could experience similar effects. He concluded that, “If it can be shown that contraceptives in drinking water is causing infertility among those who want to have babies, a legal revolution against the pill could occur.” From the June 20 article:

You are likely consuming contraceptives whether you know it or not through your drinking water, according to a new study from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The study, published in the March issue of Scientific Reports, measured the amount of the synthetic hormone EE2, a common contraceptive ingested by women around the world, and found it “present in aquatic environments throughout the United States and many other countries.”

Researchers tested whether exposure to EE2 has any adverse health outcomes for the “mekada fish” in Japan. What they found could have an impact on how Americans view their own drinking water and the nearly universal use of the Pill to avoid pregnancy.

[...]

It should be noted that the anti-smoking campaign did not really get rolling in America until the advent of second-hand smoke. If it can be shown that contraceptives in drinking water is causing infertility among those who want to have babies, a legal revolution against the pill could occur. [Breitbart News, 6/20/16]

Breitbart News’ Milo Yiannopoulos: Birth Control “Destroyed The Institution Of Marriage” And Makes You “Fat,” “Unsexy,” And “A Slut.” Deriding the media for discussing women’s health, Breitbart News tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos made a number of unsupported claims about the effects of using contraceptives. Yiannopoulos argued that birth control not only “destroyed the institution of marriage” but also makes women “fat,” “unsexy,” and “a slut.” After making these claims, Yiannopoulos warned that, if a woman stops taking birth control, “you will be faced with a woman who has spent the last half-decade not learning how to deal with the Twilight Zone insanity endemic to the female brain.” From the December piece:

So in other words, your birth control injection will add on pounds that will prevent the injection you really want — of man meat. This, in turn, will lead to depression and excessive ice-cream consumption, which adds on more pounds. Eventually, you’ll find yourself in what medical professionals call “a vicious cycle” but what I call FFAS, or “Female Forever Alone Syndrome.”

[...]

Of course, if your darling wife has been on the Pill for the last five years of your union, you’ve never actually met her in her true form. When she finally stops dosing, you will be faced with a woman who has spent the last half-decade not learning how to deal with the Twilight Zone insanity endemic to the female brain.

When she comes off the drugs, be prepared for all your worst nightmares to come true. You literally just asked an addict to go cold turkey. [Breitbart News, 12/8/15]