Regret the Error

A previous introduction to this story incorrectly implied that a “Yes” vote would overturn the law. In fact, a “Yes” vote affirms the law. Link  Report an error

As has now been reported in many places, several media outlets last week fell for a hoax study that claimed users of Internet Explorer have a lower IQ than people who prefer other browsers. The BBC, which covered the fake news, published a report today revealing the hoax: The story was reported by many high [...]

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 [...]

… 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 [...]

Alicia Shepard just finished her stint as NPR ombudsman, and her final blog post included this recommendation: Hire someone to handle corrections. Between May 19 and May 27, apparently there were no mistakes made on NPR. I simply do not believe that. What I do believe is that the folks in charge of corrections have [...]

This story was a follow-up to a piece that originally aired 10 years ago. At the time, reporter Colin Fogarty profiled an 8-year-old child named Anthony. His last name was withheld because he was a minor. NPR has now been informed by Friends of the Children that they made a major mistake: The Anthony Blackmon [...]

A previous Web version of this story incorrectly said North Korea instead of South Korea in reference to possible trade pacts. Link  Report an error

The shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others at a public event earlier today resulted in an onslaught of breaking news reporting. Major news organizations raced to gather reporting, and information began to spread quickly. As is often the case, this led to a lot of mistakes — including reports from NPR, Reuters, CNN, [...]

In recent weeks, NPR hosts, reporters and guests have incorrectly said or implied that WikiLeaks recently has disclosed or released roughly 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. Although the website has vowed to publish "251,287 leaked United States embassy cables," as of Dec. 28, 2010, only 1,942 of the cables had been released. Link NPR's ombudsman has [...]

Earlier versions of this story reported that Israel expelled the families of Turkey’s diplomats in the aftermath of Israel’s actions against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. NPR should have reported that Israel recalled the families of its own diplomats from Turkey. Link  Report an error

An early version of this story said that Barack Obama is an American citizen because his mother was an American citizen. Obama is an American citizen because he was born on American soil. Link  Report an error

In the audio version of this story, Howard Berkes said that Elizabeth Smart gave her testimony 6,659 days after she had been abducted. He actually had calculated the correct number as 2,659 days but misspoke when he recorded the radio story. Link  Report an error

This story mistakenly said that California spends as much money on corrections as its entire education system. The story should have said that the state spends as much money on corrections as it does on its higher education system. Link  Report an error

The audio introduction to this story said, "Back in 1989, before the dawn of the Internet, three young students at Beijing University were among those at the center of the drama in Tiananmen Square." In fact, accounts of the Tiananmen Square killings were relayed via the Internet in 1989. Link  Report an error

Our critic mistakenly said that an ice age "marked the death of the dinosaurs," rather than their advent. In fact, neither is true. The text of the review has been updated. Link *Correction July 3: Speaking of failure, the word "Jurassic" was misspelled in this headline. It has been corrected. Thanks, Kate!  Report an error

We incorrectly said that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had killed himself. It was actually former President Roh Moo-hyun who committed suicide. Link  Report an error

We incorrectly referred to a gay rights group as “Equity Illinois.” It is actually called “Equality Illinois.” Link  Report an error

In some broadcasts, we said, “Madden ended his career working for Monday Night Football on ESPN.” In fact, he was working for Sunday Night Football on NBC when he decided to retire. Link  Report an error

We said, “[I]n Paris, two Muslim girls were harassed by a Jewish gang.” In fact, the two Muslim students were boys. Link  Report an error

We said, “Compare that tripling of risk, a 300 percent increase in death [among smokers], to what the study found about red meat — a 30 percent increase.” In fact, a tripling of risk is a 200 percent increase. Link  Report an error

The story incorrectly referred to “the late Joan Didion.” Joan Didion has not died. Link  Report an error

In some broadcasts, we said that “Sen. Kerry may go [to Syria] in the near future.” In fact, he has already returned from Syria. Link  Report an error

We said former New Jersey Gov. William Cahill was “convicted of a crime.” Although Cahill’s campaign manager, his appointed state treasurer and his appointed secretary of state were convicted of corruption charges, Cahill was never charged, let alone convicted, of any crimes. Link  Report an error

In some versions of this interview, we said N.Y. Giants player Plaxico Burress had shot himself with a “40-millimeter Glock.” We should have said .40-caliber. Link *Correction: This headline originally read “Clarly” rather than “Clearly.”  Report an error

We incorrectly referred to “former Sen. Chuck Hagel.” Hagel is still in the Senate. Link  Report an error