PULLMAN, Wash. — A tweet of a doctored video of former President Barack Obama sent by Washington State University head football coach Mike Leach in June may have cost the school $1.6 million.
Vice President for Marketing and Communications Phil Weiler said the tweet did not result in donors asking for their money back but some did say they altered their plans for future giving.
“These were primarily estate gifts that would have been paid out upon the donor’s death. These future estate gifts would have totaled $1.6 million,” he said.
WSU President Kirk Schulz has said it is probably too early to predict the actual impact on future giving.
After Leach tweeted the fake video, Deadspin said he spent four hours fighting with people over the accuracy of the video. He later deleted the tweet.
Leach tweeted a correction. Sort of. He posted a link to the complete speech and said, “I agree that the video was incomplete. However, I believe discussion on how much or how little power that our Gov should have is important......Remarks by the President in Address to European Youth.”