August 2008

Right-Wing Radio Fabricating Phony Obama Sound Bites


I'm an Obama supporter who also happens to love listening to talk radio, which of course means I subject myself to quite a bit of anti-Obama rhetoric on right-wing radio. I usually don't mind, as I enjoy hearing opinions that challenge my own. But what I heard this week really bothered me.

Michael GrahamTwo talk show hosts, Michael Graham and Michele McPhee, on Boston's WTKK (96.9 FM) have been playing a sound bite of Obama responding to Rick Warren's question about abortion. This sound bite appears to be spliced together with other sound clips of Obama stammering and stuttering. The end result is a completely fabricated sound bite of Obama sounding like a buffoon. This fake sound bite has been played repeatedly on both of their shows since August 18, 2008, presented every time as an authentic Obama quote.

Michele McPhee I've contacted the radio station with no response. Another listener called in to the station on August 20 at around 9pm and tried to bring up the subject and was immediately hung up on.

See for yourself what they're up to at WTKK. Below is the original sound clip of Barack Obama and Rick Warren (it's a little quiet, may need to turn up your speakers):


You will need the QuickTime player to listen to these clips. Download it for free here. Or, you can also scroll to the bottom of this page and check out the original sources.


If you don't have Quicktime, here's the mp3 file.



And here is the spliced version they've been playing on the radio in Boston:


If you don't have Quicktime, here's the mp3 file.



Pretty big difference, huh? And this is only one of the fabricated sound bites they've been playing on WTKK.

Help me out by filing a complaint with the FCC so we can teach these guys a lesson. If their complaint form is down, please send an email to fccinfo@fcc.gov.


To File a Complaint:

  1. Choose Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues
  2. Choose Unauthorized, unfair, biased, illegal broadcasts
  3. Choose Online Form
  4. Note that the offending party is WTKK 96.9 FM located in Boston MA. Program name is Michael Graham, date of program is 8-18-08, time of program is 9am. Feel free to reference this website in your complaint.

Our sources: The original sound bite is from Google video and the WTKK clip is from the WTKK website (click "Play Here 0:00:45" on the right to hear the clip).

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