In a story Dec. 14 about military sexual abuse, The Associated Press reported erroneously that an attorney representing military members and veterans said she was surprised by the dismissal of a lawsuit. Susan Burke said she was “not surprised.” Link Report an error
In a Dec. 11 story, The Associated Press erroneously quoted President Obama as saying: “There are going to be people who say, `This is the socialist Obama and he’s come out of the closet.’” That remark was made by 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft, not the president. Link Report an error
In a Dec. 4 hometown lead on the NFL game between Carolina and Tampa Bay, The Associated Press erroneously quoted Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris following a 38-19 loss. The coach, referring to what Morris described as poor play by his team, said: “I can take getting beat by a better football team, which they were.” [...]
A retraction from AP: The Associated Press has withdrawn the 12th and 13th Ld-Writethrus of its story about the Natalie Wood investigation. The story quoted Christopher Walken telling Washington, D.C. sports talk radio station ESPN980 about his recollections from the night that Wood died. The station now says that it was a hoax involving a [...]
In a Nov. 3 story about a Texas judge who was secretly videoed beating his teenage daughter, The Associated Press misquoted the judge’s ex-wife. She blamed the violence on his addiction not his addition. Link Report an error
In stories July 12 and Oct. 27 on the extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over claims of sexual misconduct, The Associated Press reported that his attorney, Ben Emmerson, said in July that the women involved in the case may have found sex with his client “disrespectful, discourteous or disturbing,” but added that it [...]
An advisory issued by Reuters on Friday: Please be advised that the Oct 27 Moscow story headlined “Chechen teen diary a bitter tale of bombs and survival” has been withdrawn because, though it included original reporting, it is too similar to a piece already published by The Guardian on the same subject to be appropriate [...]
In an Oct. 18 story about the Scream Awards, The Associated Press misspelled the first name of Pee-wee Herman as Pee Wee. Link Report an error
The original version of this story erroneously reported that singer Stevie B was hauled off stage during a concert at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., and arrested for failure to pay child support. Police said he was arrested after his show, as he was leaving the arena. The original article saying he was arrested [...]
In a Sept. 8 story about a South African girl with progeria, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Ontlametse Phalatse is the first black child diagnosed with the aging disease. The Progeria Research Foundation said it is aware of two other cases of black children diagnosed with progeria who have died. The AP also erroneously [...]
In an Aug. 30 story about agriculture damage from Hurricane Irene, relying on information from the Maryland Department of Agriculture on poultry deaths, The Associated Press reported erroneously that about 30,000 birds had been killed in that state. The department now says no birds died as a result of the storm. On Thursday, a department [...]
Reuters recently carried a report about Abercrombie & Fitch offering money to Jersey Shore star The Situation to stop wearing its clothes. Here’s how the report began: Teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N) has offered money to get away from what it sees as an undesirable Situation. The preppy retailer has offered to [...]
A notice from the AP: The mayor of Vilnius acknowledged Tuesday distributing a deliberately altered picture to The Associated Press and other news organizations intended to dramatize his anti-parking campaign, an image that then was published in newspapers around world. The AP withdrew the photo, transmitted on Aug. 3, and notified its customers of the [...]
In Today in History for Aug. 11, the Thought for Today omitted the name of the British poet who said, “Journalism is literature in a hurry.” The poet was Matthew Arnold (1822-1888). Link Report an error
Misunderstandings between the French and visiting British vacationers are a traditional feature of summers in France. But did a British malentendu over another French summer staple — a fictional series of articles in Le Monde — contribute to a mysterious sell-off in French bank stocks last week? That is the question that French politicians, business [...]
In a July 30 story about Israel becoming a haven for Jewish-American basketball players, The Associated Press erroneously identified basketball player David Blu’s late mother as African-American and non-Jewish. She was white and Jewish. Link Report an error
In the initial version of a July 31 story about the Christian background of Anders Behring Breivik, The Associated Press misstated the title of an upcoming book about religion and terrorism. The correct title is “Islamic Pacifism: Global Muslims in the Post-Osama Era,” not post-Obama era. Link Report an error
Poynter’s Steve Myers today published an article that suggests Reuters learned a couple of important lessons after it published a remarkably wrong David Cay Johnston column. Myers reports that the news organization will soon implement a new way to handle retractions, an update that better adapts to the digital world. .. A notice will be [...]
David Cay Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who launched a new column for Reuters this week. After his debut piece hit the wires and the web, Johnston realized he’d made a major mistake. The premise of his column was wrong. Reuters soon withdrew the piece and Johnston took the highly unusual step of [...]
In a story about former first lady Betty Ford’s death, The Associated Press incorrectly identified one of the speakers who will deliver a eulogy at her California funeral. The speaker will be Geoffrey Mason, who is affiliated with the Betty Ford Center, not Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, a University of Michigan dean. Link Report an error
WENN acknowledges that it mistakenly facilitated the publication of unfounded allegations regarding the status and professional standing of Omar Amanat, a founding member of the board of directors of Summit Entertainment LLC, the independent studio behind the Twilight Saga trilogy of movies. We have now ascertained that Mr. Amanat not only controls approximately twenty percent [...]
A report from Stinky Journalism: … the BBC, Time magazine, the Telegraph and other news outlets published stories about a dog in Israel being condemned to stoning in Israel. As the BBC explained, the hoax story: “It was reported that the dog reminded a judge of a curse passed on a now deceased secular lawyer [...]
In a story June 20 about retired NFL players discussing a class-action lawsuit against the league demanding better benefits, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Joe DeLamielleure limped to the podium to state his case and then detailed his lengthy resume of surgeries. DeLamielleure has never had surgery and does not walk with a limp. [...]
… what happened Tuesday when stories started to come out of Liberty County, Texas, about "dozens" of bodies supposedly being found at a home is worth noting. It underscores again how we in the news media need to remind ourselves sometimes to slow down and let the facts become more clear before we rush to [...]
In a June 7 story, The Associated Press reported erroneously that a Syrian-American lesbian blogger who criticized the Syrian government on a website had been arrested in Damascus. Tom MacMaster, 40, an American graduate student in Scotland, announced June 12 at the website that he made up the persona, wrote the postings and that the [...]
