Propagandist on Campus

(Goebbels addressing a crowd with Nazi propaganda)

In February, UF's Turkish Student Association hosted Justin McCarthy, who spoke on the Armenian genocide. The title of his talk was "'So-Called' Armenian Genocide," which should give you the idea that his argument was that the genocide didn't really happen.

Why write about this almost 4 months after the fact? McCarthy's name came up in the summer 2008 newsletter of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Intelligence Report. Intelligence Report tracks hate groups and their movement across the US. In the newsletter's lead story, the SPLC identifies an "Armenian genocide denial industry" that's largely funded by the Turkish government and that has been trying to get its tentacles into the American university system. And it indicates that Justin McCarthy is a big wheel in this movement.

The archives of The Alligator include a preview story indicating that ACCENT co-sponsored the event. There's also a pro-McCarthy letter to the editor and a review article that recaps McCarthy's argument, mostly focusing on his intent to keep the "debate" open.

The review article remains "objective" merely trying to recap the "debate" without intrusive "editorializing." I don't hold the Alligator staff responsible for uncovering the national trend of revisionist propaganda, but this does raise an interesting question: had they known, would they have given this event the same treatment as a campus-sponsored, revisionist-funded speaker who wanted to keep open the "debate" on the Holocaust?

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Update: The Turkish-American Legal Fund is suing the Southern Poverty Law Center for decrying the work of another genocide denier, Guenter Lewy. It's a pretty brutal assault on the right of academic freedom to disagree with or criticize another's work.