Neither citation actually proved the claims in the tweet, which were that in 2019 Chick-fil-A was either donating to a “National Christian Organization” (or “National Christian Org”), or that Chick-fil-A donated to any group funding anti-gay violence in Uganda. But the original tweet responses linked to an item from 2012 about Chick-fil-A’s 2010 donations to groups with anti-marriage equality stances, and a 2014 article about donations from 2005 to various organizations the author claimed were advancing anti-LGBTQ viewpoints or positions. To recap, the original tweet spread virally on Twitter and in screenshots posted to sites like Reddit and Facebook, itself creating search results appearing to verify its own claims in a circular fashion.
Also of note is that a search for “Chick-fil-A” and “National Christian Organization” restricted to before the tweet appeared primarily returned results for uncapitalized, unspecified “national Christian organization(s),” not a group specifically going by that name. That article named the organizations as follows: Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380), Fellowship of Christian Athletes ($480,000) National Christian Foundation ($247,500), New Mexico Christian Foundation ($54,000), Exodus International ($1,000), Family Research Council ($1,000), and the Georgia Family Council ($2,500). Like the 2014 post, the Business Insider post did not in any way support the tweet’s claims about Uganda or the National Christian Organization.” Business Insider reported Chick-fil-A was - as of 2012 - making its donations through the WinShape foundation, adding:Ĭhick-fil-A gave $2 million to seven anti-gay groups in 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to Equality Matters’ analysis of its charitable giving.Ĭhick-fil-A gave the Marriage & Family Foundation $1.1 million and another half million dollars went to the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes, according to the report.
“Buck”: McCabe nonetheless serves on the board of directors of the National Christian Foundation, one of the top funders of anti-LGBT rights groups on earth. While Chick-Fil-A’s funding of anti-LGBT organizations, at least through its Winshape Foundation, appears to have ceased following scrutiny and pressure from LGBT rights organizations, Chick-Fil-A’s Senior Vice President and CFO James B. Maclellan of the Maclellan Foundation – one of the most important funders of the NCF and an attendee at The Gathering. All of the above have been funded by the National Christian Foundation. The project included the participation numerous anti-LGBT organizations and leaders including Exodus International, Citizens for Community Values, the Alliance For Marriage (a driving force behind state anti-same sex marriage amendments), leaders from Focus on the Family, leaders from The Navigators, Campus Crusade For Christ Military Ministry, Alan Carlson and Larry Jacobs of the Howard Center, members of the Georgia Family Council, and representatives from Campus Crusade For Christ (Family Life). It was a project of the Chick-Fil-A led “Marriage CoMission”, a coalition of dozens of ministries and organizations dedicated to fighting the “downward spiral of marriage and the traditional family in America.” In 2005, top leaders from Chick-Fil-A, including Don Cathy, launched the Marriage and Family Legacy Fund, which later change its name to the Marriage & Family Foundation. In that 2014 post, Chick-fil-A was described as having ceased donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations: The longer of the two (the 2014 blog post) made no mention of a group called the “National Christian Organization,” and “Chick-fil-A” only came up in separate contexts unrelated to Uganda. One was a long blog post, the other a 2012 Business Insider article. The original poster’s two links were dated 20 respectively, but neither conclusively indicated what the tweet said they did.