Act Now to Stop Misleading “AIDS Charity”
For those who care about the cause of HIV/AIDS, it’s vexing that an issue of such importance, gravity and urgency rarely seems to earn headlines, let alone placement on the front pages of national newspapers. That’s why many of us were surprised to see that HIV/AIDS had finally made it to the front pages of the New York Times website, for well over a week running now. Has there been a revolutionary medical or policy advance? Not exactly. It turns out that all it would have taken to get HIV/AIDS onto these front pages was money. And a blind eye.
The New York Times has been running ads (a lot of them) for an organization called the Center for AIDS Prevention. Good, right? Anything that raises awareness helps us all, right? No, as it turns out.
When I first saw these ads I was immediately curious since I hadn’t heard of the charity before and wanted to learn more about an organization with the resources to purchase space on a such a highly trafficked site. What I discovered upon clicking the link disturbed me, and I have since learned that I am not alone.
An investigative article on the website ProPublica offers some details on the organization and the growing outrage that the New York Times continues to run their ads throughout their site. The disturbing facts about this organization highlighted include:
- Incorrect information on their website regarding basic facts about the disease and its prevention, including suggesting that birth control pills prevent HIV or that c-section births increase the risk of transmission
- The charity’s endorsement of herbal remedies intended to replace antiretroviral drugs (this part of their website has now been removed)
- Lack of any specifics on what services they provide to those affected by the AIDS epidemic
- The admission by the organization’s leader that the current ads are just “a little fundraising campaign to pay the rent.”
These are just a few of the facts of the case. Read ProPublica’s investigative piece if you want to be infuriated further. For the Center for AIDS Prevention has a willing partner in getting their misguided and misinformed message out there, and that’s the New York Times advertising department. [Skip to what you can do about this.]
When questioned by ProPublica, they responded that they reviewed the ad itself for content that is objectionable or does not meet the newspaper’s standards and found that it complied. In their words: “It is important to note that we review the ad, not the organization. We do not read a book in order to accept advertising for it. Likewise, we do not validate statements of fact made by advocacy groups, or their Web sites. We do, of course, expect all advertisers to present information factually,” said Diane McNulty a Times spokeswoman.
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a book advertised on the front page of the New York Times website, so I’m not really sure I can make use of her analogy, but I’ll try. I am fairly certain that a book by a questionable author, containing misguided and inflammatory political statements would not be given such a fair and fearless placement at the top of the front page and the heading of every subsection. I’m willing to bet that for some books, they would take the trouble to read them. And decide that it would not be responsible to advertise them.
But money is money, and these are tough times in the media business. They obviously can’t afford to turn down ad revenue, even if it’s coming from a questionable organization like the Center for AIDS Prevention.
It’s just too bad that there are many reputable organizations out there that have long labored this field, and ethically worked hard to secure resources to provide the highest quality information to those who need it, and deliver services to those affected by the disease. I see this work every day and I know the real impact that these scarce resources are having on people’s lives. I know HIV-positive people whose lives have been saved by the work of AIDS Action and other organizations like it. I know HIV-negative people whose lives have been saved by its prevention messages.
And this is the travesty of the Times’s turning a blind eye to the legitimate questions raised by ProPublica and organizations like the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP). Who knows how much money the Center for AIDS Prevention has raised since its ad campaign began? We’ll never know, I suspect. Their tax returns show no revenue for the past two years.
So, what can we do? Well, CHAMP has some excellent suggestions about how to make your voice heard (see below).
And let’s remember, HIV/AIDS deserves to be on the front pages. Let’s make sure that when it does, it is in support of those making a real difference in this fight.
1) Contact the New York Times public editor (”the readers’ representative” ) and their advertising representatives to ask him how this advertising practice fits within either their stated guidelines or ethical practices:
Clary Hoyt, Public Editor:
E-mail: public@nytimes.com
Phone: (212) 556-7652
Diane McNulty, Advertising Department
E-mail: diane.mcnulty@nytimes.com
Phone: 212-556-5244
2) Call the “Center for AIDS Prevention” to ask them for a full accounting of any funds they have collected, including anything through the New York Times ad, through their website, at the Valentine’s Day event mentioned in the ProPublica article, or any other fundraising efforts.
“Center for AIDS Prevention”
310-201-0080
310-201-0008 fax
info@centerforaidsprevention.org
