Are CMP’s full footage videos actually the full footage?
- It doesn’t matter if the reason they cut footage was they deemed it too boring or irrelevant to leave in. The whole point of releasing full footage is to leave in everything so people can see for themselves that CMP didn’t cut any context that changes the overall meaning of the videos. As a contrasting example, Live Action has released full footage videos that include over 20 minutes of someone just sitting in a waiting room before an appointment with Planned Parenthood. That is full footage, that’s what everyone assumes you mean when you say “full footage,” and that is apparently not what we have with CMP.
- It’s not at all clear that CMP really did just cut bathroom breaks and waiting periods. It would have been more transparent (though still not full footage) if they had left in a dialogue along the lines of “I’m going to use the restroom,” fade to black, and then fade back in with, “Okay, so where were we…” (or whatever was said). Likewise, the 30 minute cut doesn’t appear to be between meetings but instead appears to begin and end in the midst of the same meeting with Melissa Farrell. The way CMP cut their “full footage” isn’t transparent; it’s suspicious. And given PP suporters and the uncomfortable “mushy middle” will look for any reason to be suspicious and ignore videos like this, CMP had every reason to be much more careful and forthright.
- CMP did leave in a lot of other boring and irrelevant footage in their “full footage” videos, which raises the question: why did the cut footage merit getting cut if they weren’t cutting all boring, irrelevant footage?
Post Scripts
According to a LifeNews article from yesterday (August 31), CMP has further responded to the Fusion GPS report by releasing the missing half hour from the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast video along with a much more detailed rebuttal to the report. While I wish CMP had included this half hour in the original “full footage,” I’m glad they’ve released it now. The release and the subsequent rebuttal are steps toward more transparency, which are steps in the right direction.
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