Alix Bryan, Interactive Producer for CBS affiliate WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia, posted an explanation on her verified Twitter account Friday night about her actions filing a bogus fraud report about to GoFundMe about the Memories Pizza fundraiser. She titled it, “Thank you for your support.”
“On Wednesday, I made several tweets via my personal account after a pizza place in Indiana told ABC 57 that they would not cater a same-sex wedding.
“I have strong opinions on the subject, which I expressed on Twitter, and I did so on my own account–not as a representative of my employer.
“That same night I came across a GoFundMe campaign that was not created by Crystal or Kevin O’Connor, the owners of the pizza place. I was concerned that the GoFundMe account might also be a fake, especially after seeing someone had created a fake “Memories Pizza” website, and I thought someone could be attempting to selfishly benefit.
“I reported the campaign to GoFundMe’s fraud page so they could look into its veracity. I searched for the name of the person associated with the GoFundme account and reached out via social media and didn’t receive a response.
“This had nothing to do with my job. I never wrote a news report on this matter. I participated freely in social media discussions only on my personal account, expressing my own views, and I regret that my posts may have reflected negatively on my employer.
“My intent was to stop what could have been theft of donations. There is no way that 140 characters could encapsulate my personal opinions surrounding this topic, or others, and I do regret if my abbreviated opinions have been misinterpreted to hurt people, or cause disruption; that truly was never my intent.
“My intent was to prevent swindling, not to create a hateful conversation. In the future my actions will be more measured and I apologize to those affected.”
(Transcribed by Kristinn Taylor)
Dana Loesch, who co-founded the GoFundMe page with her Blaze TV show compatriots, was not at all satisfied, responding on Twitter to Bryan:
You still owe us an apology @alixbryan for falsely accusing us of fraud. You DIDN'T ask ANYONE until caught. @BenHowe @LawrenceBJones3 @cbs6
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) April 4, 2015
“You still owe us an apology @alixbryan for falsely accusing us of fraud. You DIDN’T ask ANYONE until caught. @BenHowe @LawrenceBJones3 @cbs6″
Previous coverage:
CBS Affiliate Employee Being Investigated for Bogus Fraud Report against ‘Memories Pizza’ (Updated)
Alix Bryan Edited from CBS6 Twitter Home Page after Filing Bogus Fraud Report against Memories Pizza
UPDATE: Aaron Worthing called out Bryan with copies of her own tweets from Wednesday:
“Your claim that you were concerned the people were being bilked, is hard to square with this tweet @alixbryan @CBS6 ”
Your claim that you were concerned the people were being bilked, is hard to square with this tweet @alixbryan @CBS6 pic.twitter.com/RR9noDl9lo
— Aaron Worthing (@AaronWorthing) April 4, 2015