Editing Rush Limbaugh (section)

===Phony soldiers===
In 2007, [[Media Matters]] reported that Limbaugh had categorized Iraq War veterans opposed to the war as "the phony soldiers". Limbaugh later said that he was speaking of [[Jesse MacBeth]], a soldier who falsely claimed to have been decorated for valor but, in fact, had never seen combat. Limbaugh said Media Matters was trying to smear him with out-of-context and selectively edited comments.<ref>{{cite web |title="Phony Soldiers" Smear Rolls On; The Mad Bomber of Bosnia Attacks |website=rushlimbaugh.com |url=https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/05/19/phony_soldiers_smear_rolls_on_the_mad_bomber_of_bosnia_attacks2/ |access-date=February 11, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309164607/https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/05/19/phony_soldiers_smear_rolls_on_the_mad_bomber_of_bosnia_attacks2/}}</ref> After Limbaugh published what he claimed was the entire transcript of phony soldiers discussion, Media Matters said that over a minute and 30 seconds of the transcript was omitted without "notation or ellipsis to indicate that there is, in fact, a break in the transcript."<ref>{{cite web| title=Limbaugh falsely recasts "phony soldiers" smear| publisher=Media Matters| date=September 28, 2007| url=http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280010| access-date=August 12, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705141239/http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280010| archive-date=July 5, 2010| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Limbaugh selectively edited "phony soldiers" clip, claimed it was "the entire transcript"| publisher=Media Matters| date=September 28, 2007| url=http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280009| access-date=August 12, 2010| archive-date=June 16, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616062250/http://mediamatters.org/research/200709280009| url-status=dead}}</ref> Limbaugh said during the minute and a half gap Media Matters had pointed out, he was waiting for relevant [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] copy on the topic, and the transcript and audio edits were "for space and relevance reasons, not to hide anything."<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Limbaugh Makes His Case| magazine=The National Review Online|date=October 3, 2007| url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/222373/limbaugh-makes-his-case/byron-york| access-date=August 16, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512221334/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/222373/limbaugh-makes-his-case/byron-york| url-status=dead| archive-date=May 12, 2011}}</ref> Senator Harry Reid and 41 Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, signed a letter asking the CEO of Clear Channel to denounce Limbaugh. Instead, the executive gave the letter to Limbaugh to auction. It raised $2.1 million, at the time an [[eBay]] record for an auction item for charity. Limbaugh said he would match the donation and give it to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Limbaugh letter nets $2.1 million on eBay |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21386016|date=October 19, 2007|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=[[NBC News]]|access-date=February 20, 2021|url-status=live |archive-date=March 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329220458/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21386016}}</ref>