Protestia
@Protestia
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Threatens to Sue ‘Evangelicals for Harris’ Over Anti-Trump AdThe Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the progressive political group ‘Evangelicals for Harris,’ threatening to sue them for copyright infringement after they featured the organization’s namesake in a series of anti-Trump ads.
Evangelicals For Harris, which is only slightly less absurd than “Queers for Palestine,” claims to represent evangelicals who are voting and advocating for the Harris/Walz ticket, running interference for them while seeking to downplay their radical agenda on issues like the economy, climate change, abortion entrenchment and expansion, LGBTQ promotion, destroying the nuclear family, and trans-ing the children.
In a prime example of “don’t pee on my head and tell me it’s raining,” the group puts a huge focus on Harris’ faith, insisting she is a “deeply committed Christian” despite being a living, breathing emblem of Jezebellion hubris that deeply despises Jesus, Christianity, and everything it stands for.
Several months ago, the group released a campaign ad featuring the late evangelist Billy Graham insisting on the importance of going to the cross and asking for forgiveness. This was then contrasted with footage of Trump from 2015 who, when asked if he had ever sought God’s forgiveness (which we’ve criticized him for), said: “I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don’t think so. I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don’t bring God into that picture. I don’t.”
At the time, the ad featuring Graham prompted a response from his son, Franklin Graham, who insisted that “The liberals are using anything and everything they can to promote candidate Harris” and that “they are trying to mislead people” on account that his father was a “firm supporter of President Trump in 2016.”
Evangelicals for Harris have responded to the threat of a lawsuit from the BEGA, saying in a statement that their use of Graham’s footage is entirely fair use and they have no intention of removing it.
“Our ability to publicly discuss the moral failings of Donald Trump and how his behavior comports with the values espoused by evangelical leaders, including Billy Graham, is essential First Amendment expression…EFH’s limited use of Billy Graham’s speech falls squarely within the fair use protections afforded by Section 107 of the Copyright Act…
The “Keep Clear” advertisement contains short clips from a speech given by Billy Graham thirty-six years ago. The advertisement uses these clips to comment on Graham’s message and contrast it with the statements and actions of former President Donald Trump. This is a paradigmatic example of fair use, which protects “criticism, comment, [and] news reporting”[4] and provides “breathing space within the confines of copyright.
EFH’s use of the short segments of Billy Graham’s speech is legal, fully appropriate, and well within our rights. EFH will not be removing the “Keep Clear” advertisement in response to your demand. The advertisement is a transformative, noncommercial use of less than two percent of a widely disseminated video, aimed at a market that BGEA was prohibited from targeting.”
4:41 PM · Oct 10, 2024
