Fox News attacks Girl Scouts with liberal 'conspiracy' charge

Fox News on Thursday teamed up with a former Girl Scout to warn that the organization was conspiring to "promote a clear liberal ideology."

Fifteen-year-old Sydney Volankski, who left the Girl Scouts in 2010 to write about their "pro-abortion mindset" on her blog, has now discovered that a guide published by Girl Scouts of the USA (GUSA) advises scouts to check media facts through a number of sites including Media Matters, which Fox News host Steve Doocy called "clearly a lefty blog."

Glenn Beck's website The Blaze first hyped the latest claims against the Girl Scouts after they were contacted by Volankski's mother.

"Perhaps the Girl Scouts staffers were too busy to respond to us, but considering the fact that the Media Matters reference is, in itself, a form of misinformation, bias — potentially even indoctrination — we assumed that the book would no longer be on the market," The Blaze's Billy Hallowell wrote. "We were wrong."

Following that, Volankski was invited to appear on the Fox & Friends morning show.

"We were just trying to spread awareness to families," Volankski said of her blog. "We were so deceived. For eight years, we were in Girl Scouts and we didn't realize that Girl Scouts was promoting such a liberal ideology like with the Media Matters site."

"Uh-huh," Doocy agreed.

For their part, Girl Scouts has caved under the pressure and promised to to remove all references to Media Matters from future printings of their media guide, but Volankski wasn't satisfied.

"Obviously, Girl Scouts is not concerned enough to pull these books off the shelf," Volankski complained.

The former scout has also written that "role models GSUSA encourages girls to emulate include pro-abortion champions, Marxists, Socialists and advocates of same sex lifestyle."

While the national Girl Scouts organization does maintain a neutral position on reproductive rights, local and regional chapters have the autonomy to partner with groups like Planned Parenthood for educational purposes.

"In some areas of the country, Girl Scout troops or groups may choose to hold discussions about human sexuality and may choose to collaborate with a local organization that specializes in these areas," GSUSA said in a statement earlier this year. "The topic is discussed from a factual, informative point of view and does not include advocacy or promotion of any social or religious perspective."

GUSA has also approved numerous programs and badges (PDF) developed by religious organizations.

Watch this video from Fox News' Fox & Friends, broadcast Dec. 29, 2011.

(H/T: Talking Points Memo, News Hounds)