Some media outlets are out to get Blackwater so badly that they'll believe anything negative about the company and report it as "news."CBS was one of several news organizations, including the Associated Press, that fell for a phony Blackwater press release. The militant group Code Pink reportedly had written the release as a spoof.
The sloppy reporting first surfaced in the website of a throw-away Washington, DC paper called the Politico.
According to Editor & Publisher magazine, "With all of the news about Blackwater USA's problems, it wasn't a surprise that a fake story about the company creating a 'Department of Corporate Integrity' would make it on to several valid news sites. CBS News and Politico.com were among the victims of the fraud, reportedly perpetuated by Code Pink, according to Politico, which posted a correction today. CBS reprinted a Politico story on its site.
Politico issued a correction: "Code Pink today pulled off a hoax that pulled in Politico and a number of other news outlets when it ginned up a fake release, saying that Blackwater USA was creating a new 'Department of Corporate Integrity' that would put the 'mercy back in mercenary.' That should have been a tip off."
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1 comment:
Please be advised that the Associated Press did not fall for the bogus press release, as your Nov. 1 post claims.
Moreover, the Editor & Publisher article linked within your story makes no assertion about the AP.
The AP checked out the group that issued the news release and determined it was fake.
A correction is in order.
Paul Colford
Director of Media Relations
The Associated Press
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