In light of Ken Jennings’ comment (previous post), in jest one presumes, here is what Al Gore actually said, from the Transcript: Vice President Gore on CNN’s ‘Late Edition’ – March 9, 1999:
During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.
Without doubt, within the Congress, Gore was a leader, instrumental in legislation that helped establish what we now know as the internets. According to Bob Somerby, via Nexis, the first mention of the word “Internet” in The Washington Post was in November 1988. Gore had already introduced his legislation in the Senate. According to Newt Gingrich in 2000, “Gore is the person who, in the Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an Internet.”
It seems clear that “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet” is a truthful statement by Gore. He did not say he invented the internet. The media did.