Who is more dangerous to the public, the late Senator Oldsmobile, a/k/a Teddy Kennedy, driving drunk at night with his headlights off, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate with a loaded handgun, or Brian Ross late of ABC News with an anonymous tip? From CNN:
ABC News on Friday evening corrected an explosive special report that aired in the morning saying that Donald Trump, as a candidate for president, had asked Michael Flynn to make contact with Russians.
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The initial report, based on one anonymous source, prompted a dramatic reaction in the financial markets, and the Dow fell more than 350 points.
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A tweet published by ABC News containing Ross’ initial report had been retweeted more than 25,000 times and embedded in various news
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stories online before it was deleted. ABC posted a “clarification” on Twitter around 8 p.m.
An ABC spokesperson said the network learned its initial reporting was incorrect at about 6 p.m. The network spokesperson declined to say if any disciplinary action would occur.
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Shortly before 11 p.m., after a barrage of criticism, ABC posted a new tweet with the header “Correction” instead of “Clarification” followed by the same text as the prior tweet. The original tweet was deleted.
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This is not the first high-profile mistake by Ross. In a 2012 piece for which he apologized, he suggested that the Aurora shooter may have had a connection to the Tea Party.
Brian Ross’ Fearless Fosdick style of reporter tanked the market in the morning prior to Eleven. It was over twelve hours later that the adults at ABC News issued a correction.
edit:dl
