I have received a phone call from an anonymous participant of Occupy Greensboro concerned about references in this blog to the group endorsing candidates for Greensboro City Council. It’s the direct attribution of the material on this web page to Occupy Greensboro in the headline and the word “endorses” that seems to be causing the trouble.
The text of the blog post attributes the information more specifically to the Occupy Greensboro Media Group. The wording of the material on the web page somewhat supports that characterization. The headline reads, “Candidate Information for City of Greensboro by a couple members of the Media Group.”
A subhead contains the caveat: “A member of the Media Group has composed some opinions on tomorrow’s candidates. This is not an endorsement that has reached consensus within the General Assembly.”
The matter has caused some dissension in the group and a possible defection. Billy Jones says in a comment thread: “I consider any endorsements to be out of line with Occupy values. Now I must reconsider my support for Occupy Greensboro.”
Jones says the post has been altered, and originally read, “Members of the Media Group have composed some opinions on tomorrow’s candidates…”
As to whether the material constitutes endorsements, the web page clearly recommends specific candidates, although with different degrees of enthusiasm.
