Regret the Error

Last week the Associated Press ran with a story about Paris Hilton raising awareness about the plight of drunken elephants. Though many, including the AP, are willing to believe anything when it comes to Paris Hilton, this particular tale was completely false. (Our previous post with the original story and correction is here.)

AP had picked it up from the World Entertainment News Network (see some of their previous work here and here). According to an article in the New York Times, WENN says it had spotted the tale in the Daily Star, a UK tabloid (see some of their previous work here and here). An AP stringer in India saw the WENN piece and wrote it up; then AP put it on the wire before waiting receiving a reply from Hilton’s spokesperson.

The Times contacted Jesse Washington, AP’s entertainment editor, for an explanation. “The irony in the story was obvious,” he said. “But it doesn’t change the fact that you have to verify it. This time we didn’t, and we got burned.”

The story also contains one of the more amusing explanatory paragraphs to have graced the pages of the Times:

For the record, it is apparently true that elephants there get drunk on farmers’ homemade rice beer, then go on rampages. But it is not true that Ms. Hilton, who served jail time this year for violating probation after a drunken driving arrest, told reporters, “The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them.”

While AP did put out a correction to its customers, it didn’t offer a full explanation until the Times came calling. Perhaps it will offer a more of a proactive admission the next time it gets caught pimping Paris Hilton and drunken elephants. Or just hold off and wait for the appropriate verification before piling on.

After all, did this story really require such a rush to publish?

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