Shapiro’s Book on Brainwashing “Misconstrues Facts”

Ben Shapiro’s recently published book about the liberal bias in American colleges and universities is sure to be a bestseller. It’s worth wondering, however, just how accurate it really is. According to some who went to college with him, his book is rife with errors.

Charlotte Hsu writes for the Daily Bruin, the student newspaper at UCLA where Shaprio will graduate from:

In at least two instances in "Brainwashed," Shapiro, a former Bruin Viewpoint columnist, states that Student Media at UCLA – which encompasses The Bruin, UCLAtv, KLA radio and several newsmagazines – receives funding from student fees. Student Media receives no money from the university or student tuition and fees and is completely self-funded.

In addition to factual mistakes, Shapiro makes multiple errors when quoting. He misquotes Seidler-Feller in more than one instance. In a segment about a memorial for Holocaust victims, Shapiro writes: "Seidler-Feller spoke to the crowd of students, comparing Israeli treatment of Palestinians to Nazi treatment of Jews." But Seidler-Feller says this wasn't what he said at all. "I have never compared Israeli behavior to Nazi behavior. It's an outrageous assertion – it's both outrageous to say that and outrageous to say I said it," he said.

Shapiro also misrepresented the views of many people he quotes in "Brainwashed." In chapter two, Shapiro cites English Professor Robert Watson's submission to The Bruin's Viewpoint section, in which Watson writes: "If you decide to characterize as radical-leftist the determination to ask hard questions about the things a society has been most comfortable assuming, then, yes, a large proportion of those who have devoted their lives to intellectual inquiry will appear to you to be radical-leftist." In "Brainwashed," Shapiro drops Watson's statement "if you decide" and writes that the professor "describes radical leftism as 'the determination to ask hard questions about the things a society has been most comfortable assuming.'" "That wasn't really what I said, and I assume he must know that," Watson said.

Shapiro, a Viewpoint columnist for nearly two years, was dismissed in 2002 for appearing on a radio show without first telling his editors, said Cuauhtemoc Ortega, the Viewpoint editor at the time. In the book's introduction, Shapiro writes that he was fired from The Bruin "for revealing the newspaper's systematic bias in favor of the Islamic community." The book's jacket says Shapiro was fired for his conservative views.

The Bruin article is pretty harsh — not in tone, but simply in laying out instance after instance of factual error, misrepresentation, and “misconstrual” of facts. Shapiro was evidently a good student which forces one to wonder whether it is possible that he could have made so many errors that just happen to benefit his case and just happen to make for a book that reinforces the prejudices of his audience without ever having realized it. In other words, one has to wonder to what degree his errors are just convenient coincidences and to what degree they were deliberately chosen in order to make his case (and his book) sound better.

Shaprio rescheduled an interview the Bruin more than onces; after being presented with a list of the errors, he canceled completely and released a statement that he stands behind the facts in his book.

I’m sure he does stand behind the facts in his book. The question is, just how many of his allegations really are facts.

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