Moveon.org Should Pull Latest Ad...And Move On

a supporters opinion of the organization's latest ad...

This week, Moveon.org, a "527" organization in the political arena, launched it's new ads. They feature the testimony of former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke in front of the 9/11 commission. I have been a supporter of the organization's right to organize and express their opinions on issues. I believe they have done great things to get people more involved in what is going on in their goverment. And I believe they are poised to be a good political force in the future.

This ad, however, should be pulled.

Clarke yesterday on Chris Matthew's show, "Hardball", expressed that he never authorized his voice being used for the political organization's ad. Clarke, who has done everything possible to show that his words are not the product of resentment or political gain, seemed quite annoyed that the group had stolen his voice to convey their message. And I agree.

No, Moveon.org is probably not breaking the law. Without really researching it, it is easy to specualate that their work is probably protected under fair use statutes or something similar. That does not excuse move on from their ethical responsibilities. The fact is that they should not be using someone's words against their will to support their cause in this way. Where Clarke is essentially on the same side as the organization, Clarke obviously wants no part of the political circus that moveon is representing. Move on should respect his wishes and send their message with more willing participants.

But that is only part of the problem with this ad. The other problem is innaccuracy. I resent seeing it in political ads, from any side of the spectrum. The last couple words of this ad has Clarke's voice over saying "stop them." The words shown are "stop 9/11." Technically innacurate.

Although everyone knows that Clarke meant "stop 9/11" he did not say that. Nor did Moveon.org bother to put 9/11 in parenthesis as is appropriate when throwing in words for clarity's sake and proper quoting. Move on just drops the volume slightly on the last word, so it almost sounds like Clarke mutters 9/11. But a careful review of the tape shows the innacuracy.

For one or the other reasons, the ad should be pulled. In fact, either of the reasons are good enough to pull the ad. And keep in mind, i'm not someone who just hates the organization. In fact, I support them. I have participated in their petitions and made phone calls on issues that are important to me when they have raised them. My motivation to point out this bad advertisement is not to damage their credibility, but to preserve it for the future.

If moveon.org wishes to see it's momentum grow and be a long term political body, they will need to do better than just staying within technical legal boundries despite the wishes of the speaker used in the ad and be more professional in their approach to the accuracy of the actual advertisements, even on the most technical and taken for granted levels.

Everyone makes mistakes, but good people and good organizations learn from them.

For more on Richard Clarke's Credibility...go here...
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