The front-page story in American Free Press Issue 27 & 28, which just went to press (and is available online now for digital subscribers) offers some hopeful news for those looking forward to the demise of the longtime leading national hate group—the SPLC—which has destroyed countless individuals and organizations and holds undue sway over law enforcement agencies across the country as well as much of the media. Nearly four-dozen leaders of conservative and right-leaning nonprofit organizations issued a “Joint Statement by Organizations Defamed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.” Now, at least 60 are considering taking legal action against the super-rich smear center for defamation.

By John Friend

In the wake of a high-profile settlement the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) recently reached with an anti-extremism group, nearly four dozen nonprofit leaders representing conservative-leaning organizations issued a joint statement condemning the SPLC and intimating that a massive lawsuit will likely be launched against the radical activist group.

According to a recent press release, 47 leaders of various conservative and right-leaning nonprofit organizations issued what they described as a “Joint Statement by Organizations Defamed by the Southern Poverty Law Center,” describing how their respective organizations have been smeared and defamed by the SPLC in the past. Expressing gratitude that “the SPLC has formally acknowledged that it has engaged in such misrepresentations” by settling with Maajid Nawaz and his anti-extremism organization the Quilliam Foundation for $3.375 million, the leaders argued that the organization is simply “a leftist instrument of political warfare against those with whom it disagrees,” and that the organization “deserves the infamy it has lately earned.”

The statement continued, “Editors, CEOs, shareholders, and consumers alike are on notice: Anyone relying upon and repeating its misrepresentations is complicit in the SPLC’s harmful defamation of large numbers of American citizens who, like the undersigned, have been vilified simply for working to protect our country and freedoms. . . . With this significant piece of evidence in mind, we call on government agencies, journalists, corporations, social media providers, and web platforms (i.e., Google, Twitter, YouTube, and Amazon) that have relied upon this discredited organization to dissociate themselves from the Southern Poverty Law Center and its ongoing effort to defame and vilify mainstream conservative organizations.”

In addition to the joint public statement, many organizations are considering also taking legal action against the SPLC, according to online news organization PJ Media, which first broke the story.

“We haven’t filed anything against the SPLC, but I think a number of organizations have been considering filing lawsuits against the SPLC, because they have been doing to a lot of organizations exactly what they did to Maajid Nawaz,” Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel and one of the signatories of the joint public statement, explained to PJ Media. “The SPLC promotes false propaganda, [and] demonizes and labels groups they disagree with, and that labeling has economic as well as physical consequences.”

Staver told PJ Media that he knew of “at least 60” organizations that are considering taking legal action against the SPLC for defamation in the wake of the settlement with Nawaz.

Importantly, the June 20 joint statement demands that government agencies, politicians, corporations, media outlets, and social media companies sever ties from the discredited organization, which has for years masqueraded as one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations.

Many top Internet giants and social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, have partnered with the SPLC to monitor, patrol, and combat “hate speech,” erroneously viewing the organization as an objective purveyor of information and advice. Mainstream media outlets have likewise relied on the SPLC for analysis and advice on issues pertaining to “hate” and “inclusiveness.”

In reality, the SPLC is little more than a radical, leftwing activist organization that has systematically targeted its political opponents for years. The end result has been rampant censorship of any views the liberal group disagrees with, which has damaged many organizations financially and interfered with their ability to conduct business.

Finally, this leading hate group’s credibility is starting to crumble.

John Friend is a freelance writer based in California.

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