Facebook ‘fact checker’ decides to add more abortion advocates to fact check of Live Action

Health Feedback, which is now being investigated after recruiting two abortionist “fact checkers” to target the pro-life group Live Action, has added a third abortion advocate who has also admitted she previously committed abortions, to their list of dissenters to the claim that “abortion is never medically necessary.” The additional abortion “fact-checker” on the site appeared the same day that four U.S. senators sent a disapproval letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for allowing biased abortionists to “fact check” two Live Action videos.

Following news about the letter, Facebook’s alleged third party group, the “International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN),”  — a unit of the Poynter Institute which selected the Health Feedback site — published the statement below, announcing that it would be investigating Health Feedback for potentially “violating IFCN’s Code of Principles…to non-partisanship….”

But Health Feedback appears to have dug in its heels, adding a statement by Alexis Shub, who is described as “Senior Lecturer, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne.”

Health Feedback’s editor, Flora Teoh, who previously worked with Singapore research company A*Star as a “postdoctoral fellow in the Humanised Mouse Unit at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology,” even found another abortionist to cite, writing, “Dr. Jen Gunter’s article explains in detail why a C-section for expedited delivery is not always safe for the mother (its safety is greatly dependent on her medical condition and the gestational age of the fetus), and why an abortion can sometimes be safer than a C-section.”

Gunter, who recently tweeted that “all abortions are needed,” stated, “I have been an OB/GYN for 28 years and, including my residency, I provided abortion services for 16 of those years. I have not provided abortion services for the past 13 years.” 

Jen Gunter all abortions are needed (Image: Twitter)

Gunter added, in part:

I am an OB/GYN board certified in two countries. I did a 5 year residency in which I trained to do abortion up to about 24-25 weeks… For 3-4 of the 6 years that I practiced in Kansas there was no gestational age limit…. That means I could have done an abortion at any gestational age — even right up to the due date….

In general, we will offer a c-section at 24 weeks, but if it looks promising at 23 weeks and 2 days and based on the patient’s wishes we may offer one that early. There are times at 25 or even 26 weeks where we recommend against a c-section and an abortion is offered….

 

It is unclear whether Gunter reached out to Health Feedback or they chose to cite her on their own. Either way, using Gunter to fact check a pro-life organization is hardly neutral or “non-partisan” — something the IFCN implies is part of its code of principles for fact checking.

Gunter adamantly defends abortion online and has referred to Lila Rose on Twitter as a “forced birther who knows nothing about medical care.” Gunter has also attacked the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), accusing the group publicly of taking part in “hate speech” and “spreading lies” because of their view against abortion. She is calling for AAPLOG — an organization of over 2,500 OBGYNs — to also be fact checked by Facebook.

But Live Action did not make its claim in a bubble. Over 1,000 physicians have signed the Dublin Declaration  including neonatologists, pediatricians, obstetricians/gynecologists, and other medical professionals. In addition, Live Action’s claim that abortion is never medically necessary is supported by the 2,500 members of AAPLOG.

Live Action News has documented the modifications made to the original Health Feedback “fact check” of Live Action below,  using archived links to show that the original fact check included two abortionists, as has been reported to a great extent.

• Original fact check with abortionists Robyn Schickler and Daniel Grossman: HERE. (See Live Action News’ background on these abortionists here.)
• September 3, 2019 fact check updated with (pro-abortion) ACOG “clarification”: HERE. (See details on ACOG’s background in abortion from Live Action News here.)
• September 11, 2019 fact check updates with Alexis Shub and Jen Gunter added HERE.

Who’s behind this “fact checking” website and what are the conflicts of interest?

The Poynter Institute states online that the IFCN “was launched in September 2015 to support a booming crop of fact-checking initiatives by promoting best practices and exchanges in this field.” But Facebook’s go-to fact check monitor has its own set of conflicts that could point to a bias against pro-life groups…

… Poynter is funded by known abortion philanthropists.

Funding for Poynter is provided by:

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Open Society Foundations (George Soros)

Other funders include Google, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Omidyar Network.

 

Open Society Foundations has been one of Poynter’s largest funders, according to now dead links that are available for archived viewing only. A previous review of the George Soros-founded organization by Live Action News found that Open Society funds many pro-abortion organizations and abortion efforts:

Abortion Access Project

• $35,000 in 2002
• $25,000 in 2003
• $2,600 in 2004

ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project:

• $150,000 in 2000, 2001, 2002
• $100,000  in 2003, 2004

American Medical Women’s Association –  to support reproductive health

• $50,000 in 2001.

Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP):

• $50,000 support provider education on early abortion in 2001 and in 2002.
• $35,000 programs on early abortion in 2003.

Center for Reproductive Rights:

• $500,000 in 2002.
• $275,000 in 2004, 2006, 2007
• $475,000 in 2008.
• $3,000 in 2017

Long Island College Hospital

• $150,000 training program on early abortion in 2001

Medical and Health Research Association – to support medical abortion pilot project

• $207,000 in 2002
• $166,000 in 2003

Medical Students for Choice:

• $60,000 in 2001, 2002
• $90,000 in 2003

NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation:

• $150,000 in 2003
• $200,000 in 2004

National Abortion Federation:

• $200,000 to integrate medical abortion into programs in 2000, $150,000 in 2001
• $120,000 to mainstream medical abortion into continuum of reproductive health care in 2003

National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL)

• $400,000 in 2000

National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF)

• $50,000 in 2002

Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health:

• $50,000 in 2000
• $45,000 in 2001
• $65,000 in 2002
• $50,000 in 2003

Planned Parenthood Federation:

• $200,000 in 2000
• $700,000 in 2001
• $500,000 in 2002
• $350,000 in 2004
• $100,000 in 2005
• $200,000 in 2006
• $300,000 in 2008, 2009
• $3.5 million in 2011
• $13.2 million in 2012
• $1.6 million in 2013
• $1.6 million in 2014

Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

• $1.5 million in 2016
• $10 million in 2017

Population Council:

• $383,000 to support clinical trials of abortion pill Mifepristone (abortion pill) in 2000

Regents of University of California:

• $150,000 efforts to improve early abortion services in 2000
• $135,000 support “Early Abortion Advancing News Standards” in 2001
• $100,000 to support Early Abortion Project in 2002
• $75,000 to support sociological study of new abortion providers in 2003
• $174,000 to support early abortion training in 2002, and $100,000 in 2003

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

• $112,000 in 2001, 2002