Americans for Prosperity refuse to retract 'demonstrably false' blog post

The conservative group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has refused to retract an article accusing Think Progress reporter Lee Fang of lying to media staff, despite an audio recording that indicates he did not.

In an anonymously published blog titled "Lee Fang Lies", the group said the reporter misrepresented himself at the AFP's Defending the Dream Summit last Friday by claiming to be a student from California.

They pointed out that Think Progress describes Fang as living in Maryland on their site.

"Fang regularly impugns conservative authors as dishonest, yet characteristic of his reporting, his preferred tactic is dishonesty and lies," the group wrote, claiming that he had a "long history of misrepresentation, spurious claims, and outright lies."

While working for the liberal site, Fang has written numerous reports about AFP and its co-founder, oil billionaire David Koch.

"Credible journalism requires honesty," the blog concludes. "It’s clear that Fang can’t even be honest about who he is. How he can call himself a journalist remains unknown."

In response to the accusations, Fang said that he had in fact been living in northern California for the last seven months and that the description on Think Progress was outdated.

He also posted an audio recording of his interaction with the media staff at the event, in which he identifies himself as being from Think Progress.

Despite being told about the error, AFP refused to correct their post, according to Fang.

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