Palin Camp Shoots Down Ridiculous Divorce Rumors Spread by CNN Stringer Dennis Zaki

From Governor Palin's Facebook page:

Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story. There is no truth to the recent “story” (and story is the correct term for this type of fiction) that the Palins are divorcing. The Palins remain married, committed to each other and their family, and have not purchased land in Montana (last week it was reported to be Long Island).

Less than one week ago, Governor Palin asked the media to “quit making things up.” We appreciate that the more professional journalists decided to question this story before repeating it.

Meg Stapleton

The release is in response to a ludicrous rumor being spread by Alaskan CNN stringer Dennis Zaki. Zaki, who previously bought into rumors of Trig Truth, picked up these allegations from the same source - the rabidly anti-Palin, Trig Truth-espousing anonymous blogger "Gryphen" of the blog "Immoral Minority". Gryphen is a friend of Zaki's, along with fellow Team Truth members Shannyn Moore, Phil Munger, and "AKMuckraker" of the Mudflats.

The rumor was already being picked up and spread around the echo chamber of the Alaskan Team Truther blogs...not only by Zaki, but by fellow Trig Truther "Doctor Phil" Munger of Progressive Alaska.

Sounds like the Palins are cutting these rumors off at the knees. Good for them.

UPDATE by RAM: So, let me understand the "story" according to Zaki and other "journalists"...

At the beginning of the month, Zaki reported that Gov. Palin was being investigated by the FBI and was going to jail. That turned out to be false. Last week, the ADN reported that Gov. Palin was moving to the Hamptons. That turned out to be false. Today, Zaki reports that Gov. Palin is moving to Montana after throwing her wedding ring into Lake Lucille. That turns out to be false.

They are reporting blatant lies. Quit making things up!

UPDATE by Tim: Welcome, Hot Air readers! And thank you to Allahpundit for helping to spread the word on the debunking of this vicious rumor.

UPDATE II by Tim: Great point by Ace:

Thankfully... The Palins put out a statement.

Because the thing is this is the sort of story that's spreading on the lefty blogs, and then it gets pushed into the comments of other blogs, and then it leaves a Nice Innocent Good-Intended Helluva Guy like me not knowing what to do-- do I inform people of what is being claimed on the internet, but at the risk of spreading what seems to be a dubious scam? Or do I censor it, where people then debate it in the comments (they've all seen it) but I pretend on the main page I'm oblivious to it?

Anyway, with the denial out there, not big thing in mentioning it.

UPDATE III by Tim: Thank heavens the Palin camp was ready to kill this immediately, because it was spreading beyond Alaska. Christopher Weber at Politics Daily was jumping on this rumor too. (Update - it's been sent down the memory hole and I unfortunately didn't cache it...Tim)

UPDATE IV by Tim: CNN stringer Dennis Zaki claims in his "report" that the Palins were not speaking to each other at the Fairbanks ceremony. Here are a couple of pics, hat tip to Rachael in the comments:


In regards to her not wearing her wedding ring while shaking hands at the Alaskan picnics, check out this quote from the Christian Science Monitor:

“My wedding ring, it’s in Todd’s pocket cause it hurts sometimes when I shake hands and it gets squished,” Palin told a crowd in Tampa, Florida. “A $35 wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself …’cause I always thought with my ring, it’s not what it’s made of, it’s what it represents and 20 years later, happy to wear it.”

Video (h/t defendAmerica in the comments):



Another UPDATE: The libel is being repeated by Alaskan blogger AKMuckraker, both at her blog and the Huffington Post.

UPDATE by Mel: Last Saturday in Anchorage:



ANOTHER UPDATE by Tim: Politico lies:

Actually, no journalists had reported the allegations. They were made on an Alaskan blog called “The Immoral Minority,” and then repeated on other blogs, including Gawker, a well-trafficked New York gossip site.

Please note above that Zaki calls himself a stringer for CNN - i.e. a "journalist". Also, note that Meg Stapleton wrote: "We appreciate that the more professional journalists decided to question this story before repeating it." It sounds like she was getting inquiries about this from other news outlets. In other words, the statement was to put those inquiries to rest.

The story already appeared on Politics Daily and was scrubbed. It was clearly spreading like wildfire.

More: I call B.S. on both Politico and Tommy Christopher here. They say that the rumors would have been given no attention without the statement from Meg Stapleton:

Politico:

By having her spokeswoman repeat the charges to rebut them in a public form, Palin effectively guaranteed coverage from the mainstream media that otherwise would not report claims attributed to unnamed sources on an anonymous blog.

Tommy Christopher:

OK, Sarah, listen to me. You ignored my very nice open letter, but this is important. You have to fire Meg Stapleton, or give her something easier to do. There are no “so-called journalists” reporting this rumor, but now, they’ll all get to report Stapleton’s denial on your behalf.

Hello!!!! Look above! Let's leave aside the fact that MSM outlets were obviously grilling Meg Stapleton about the divorce rumors. Not only is Dennis Zaki a CNN journalist, but these idiots report blog rumors all the time! Trig Truth, book banning, rape kits, name it! Then they leak upwards from the bottom-feeding blogs into the more respectable blogs, and from there into the MSM. Ignoring this crap doesn't work...if the Palin folks have learned anything, it's that. Keep fighting, Meg!

Update by JR: Mr. Martin claims:

By having her spokeswoman repeat the charges to rebut them in a public form, Palin effectively guaranteed coverage from the mainstream media that otherwise would not report claims attributed to unnamed sources on an anonymous blog.

Was Mr. Martin around during the campaign? The rules are different when it comes to the media covering Governor Palin. Mr. Martin, do you remember this?

- Palin banned books.
- Palin said that she believed that dinosaurs and humans co-existed.
- Palin charged victims for rape kits
- Trig Palin is not the governor's son.

And where did all of these things, among others, originate? Blogs, usually with unnamed sources.

Flashback to the early days of Palin's arrival on the national stage during the campaign. The New York Times ran the first hit-piece on Governor Palin, here is a quote:

And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.

Sherry Whitstine certainly has a name, but she is not to be trusted as a credible source. Yet, the New York Times felt the need to use her. Why? Because the subject of their article was Governor Palin, and the rules are different for her.

Whitstine once sent us a piece of hate email in which she described the governor as, "the whore that rides the beast." Whitstine is also not above spreading malicious rumors about the Palin family.

Is Mr. Martin saying that because Whitstine is not an "unnamed source," she can therefore be trusted? Mr. Martin's comment above shows just how low the media has set its standards when it comes to reporting on Governor Palin.

UPDATE II by RAM: Conservative Comeback has a great post explaining why Meg Stapleton's statement was necessary:

Palin is one of the few conservative politicians that seems to understand the internet. Many people now get their news from the internet. These rumors start on the blogs, work their way into comment sections of msm news stories, and eventually get reported on. Martin's line that "msm otherwise wouldn not report claims based on anonymous blogs" is ridiculous. Part of the deal with the msm exposing itself during the campaign is that it can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt. If this had gone unanswered MSNBC would have a countdown clock Monday morning to the supposed date of Palins divorce. By addressing this rumor it does guarantee msm coverage...ON PALIN'S TERMS.

Sarah saw how the McCain campaign (specifically Steve Schmidt) handled internet rumors during the campaign. The whisper campaign by the left wing blogs went unanswered, then seeped into the msm, and by then it was too late. People couldn't differentiate fact from fiction. Was she a book banner? Did she join a secession movement? Is Trig really her baby?

Read the rest here.

UPDATE III by RAM: Robert Stacy McCain came by an exclusive quote from the governor that he got from a source close to her:

My own source, while not yet authorized to speak for attribution, stated categorically that the reports are utterly without basis in fact, and that the Palins had no idea what caused them. Official statements from the Palins are expected soon, denying the claim.

RSM's source claims that the governor said:

"Divorce Todd? Have you seen Todd? I may be just a renegade hockey mom, but I'm not blind!"

RSM is having a lot of fun slapping around Dennis Zaki. Check out his post here at the American Spectator Blog. It's vintage RSM.

UPDATE by Mel: From Melissa Clouthier (via Dan Riehl):

Really, I figure the blogs and press will get more vicious, the more Sarah Palin goes around them. I love that she issued a denial through Facebook. I love that they’re irritated that she hasn’t even Tweeted for a week. They need headlines! Can’t they see that by stepping down and using alternative new media outlets, the press is deprived of the circulation numbers a woman like her generates?

The solution, then, is to make stuff up. And on the day she resigned, she chided the press for making stuff up. The press got offended. So, they make more stuff up and prove her point. If it weren’t so pathetic, it would be comical.

More here.