Sarah Lai Stirland, writing at Wired, reports on efforts by Sen. Barack Obama to “debunk” viral myths spreading on the Internet.

But in describing Obama’s efforts, she mentions the companion efforts by Obama supporter Sen. John Kerry, and in doing so libels the Swift Board Veterans for Truth:

Kerry's note was titled "Swiftboating" -- a reference to Kerry's own presidential campaign in 2004, which was famously sunk by falsities spread by the lobbying group Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth. Many politicos believe that Kerry's decision not to "dignify" the rumors and fight them aggressively contributed to his campaign's defeat in the general election.

And many other politicos think the actual facts of Kerry’s dishonorable service before the war, and questionable service during it, contributed far more to his ultimate defeat.

And has been recounted many, many times elsewhere (see below), none of the allegations by the Swiftboat veterans were ever shown to be “falsities,” though in some cases there are differences between their accounts and accounts of others. Kerry himself has continued to refuse to release any of his DD 214s (the original nor the one “revised” during the Carter administration, nor any of the rest of his military records.

Links discussing Swift Boat Veterans:

http://patterico.com/2006/05/28/swift-vets-again/

http://www.neptunuslex.com/2007/08/26/swift-boating/

http://dailypundit.com/?p=27367

http://www.swiftvets.com/index.php

http://horse.he.net/~swiftpow/index.php?topic=FAQ