NATIONAL REVIEW ARTICLE, “PLP PREDICTS 14 SEATS THUS FAR” IS FAKE NEWS
Statement
By
Bradley B. Roberts
National Chair Progressive Liberal Party
5th March 2017
NATIONAL REVIEW ARTICLE, “PLP PREDICTS 14 SEATS THUS FAR” IS FAKE NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
I refer to the Nassau Guardian’s opinion column The National Review of Wednesday 1st March under the by-line PLP predicts 14 seats thus far. In the article, author Candia Dames claimed that her article was based on credible information obtained from an impeccable National Review source.
I categorically declare beyond a shadow of a doubt that Candia Dames’ impeccable source is the former Member of Parliament for Exuma George A Smith who has not been actively involved in the operations of the Progressive Liberal Party for many years. Candia Dames knows this fact very well as does most of the Bahamas yet the Nassau Guardian’s Managing Editor shamelessly conspired to willfully mislead the general public by conflating and confusing the personal opinion of a private citizen, George Smith, with an official position of the Progressive Liberal Party. This is disgraceful and again calls into question the journalistic integrity of the Nassau Guardian’s Managing Editor.
Given the fact that Ms. Dames’ brother, Marvin Dames, is a candidate for the opposition FNM – a fact she refuses to disclose – deepens public cynicism about the veracity and intent of her editorial work and raises more questions about her journalistic integrity.
Clearly it is a lie from the deepest pits of hell. In my opinion the said article falls squarely into the ignoble category of been FAKE NEWS! I am obliged to ask how low Candia Dames and the Nassau Guardian will go to misrepresent Progressive Liberal Party.
I note that this very same newspaper sought an electoral prediction from the FNM and correctly contacted the official source, that party’s National Chairman, and identified the same. To use George Smith’s opinion, hides his identity, bypasses the party’s chairman and project Smith’s personal opinion as the official position of the PLP is unseemly even for opinion journalism; it crosses the line of acceptable journalistic behavior and cannot be condoned by the publisher of the Nassau Guardian.
I would be very surprised if the owner and publisher of the Nassau Guardian is in agreement with this kind of behavior.