Question: Did the co-founder of Microsoft write an editorial praising Mormons in a California newspaper?

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Question: Did the co-founder of Microsoft write an editorial praising Mormons in a California newspaper?

The letter was written by someone having the same name as the co-founder of Microsoft

Paul Allen — co-founder of Microsoft and owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers — wrote a letter praising Mormons that was published in a Santa Clarita, California newspaper.

(One example of this widely-circulated letter can be read in this Usenet post.)

A FairMormon volunteer contacted The Signal, Santa Clarita Valley's newspaper, and inquired about this. The general manager of the paper confirmed that a letter to the editor from a Paul Allen was published in the newspaper on 24 November 2000, and about a year after that someone started circulating it on the web without authorization or permission from The Signal. The version that has been circulating on the Internet appears to be a correct copy, other than the incorrect date listing of 25 April 2002 or 2003. The letter to the editor is not on The Signal's web site because they don't put letters online.

The letter-writer is not the Paul Allen of Microsoft and professional sports team fame. That Mr. Allen resides on Mercer Island, Washington, over one thousand miles north of Santa Clarita, California.

  • Tim Whyte (General Manager, The Signal), "Have Faith: Letter Was Really Published"], 26 May 2002. off-site
  • "Enough Is Enough," Snopes.com Urban Legends Reference Pages. off-site


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