MS NOW: Kash Patel Has Landed in Russia
Citing two people familiar with the matter, MS NOW reported on air that FBI Director Kash Patel had landed in Russia for a scheduled meeting.
Section I
The Big Lies
Stories the American press reported as fact, and what the evidence later showed. Every file has a screenshot of the original, the sources, the proof, and which party it helped.
ABC: Trump Sons' Investments Won 'Billions' in Pentagon Contracts
ABC reported that 1789 Capital, the firm linked to Donald Trump Jr., had taken a major stake in Anduril through a $2.5 billion investment. It also said companies backed by Trump's sons had won billions in Pentagon contracts since the election.
NPR Announces Justice Alito's Retirement. He Wasn't Retiring.
On the last day of the Supreme Court term, NPR published and broadcast that Justice Samuel Alito was retiring.
NYT Inflates 'Pax Silica' Fund and Misquotes a State Dept. Official
A Times story on the administration's 'Pax Silica' investment effort said it sought $4 trillion. It also quoted Under Secretary Jacob Helberg calling the Strait of Hormuz crisis a 'blessing.'
WaPo: Hegseth Ordered Boat-Strike Crew to 'Kill' Everyone
Citing two anonymous sources, the Post reported that Defense Secretary Hegseth gave a verbal order to kill everyone aboard a suspected drug boat on Sept. 2, and that a follow-up strike that killed two survivors was carried out to comply.
NYT Attributes Someone Else's Antisemitic Post to Charlie Kirk
On the day after Kirk was killed, a Times explainer on his views presented an antisemitic statement as something Kirk himself had said on his podcast.
WSJ: Kirk Shooter's Ammo Engraved With 'Transgender' Messages
Citing an ATF bulletin, the Journal reported that ammunition tied to Charlie Kirk's killing was engraved with transgender and anti-fascist messages.
Reuters and CNBC Report a 90-Day Tariff Pause That Wasn't
CNBC ran a breaking-news banner saying adviser Kevin Hassett had said Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for every country except China. Reuters repeated the claim, citing CNBC.
CNN 'Fact Check' on Transgender Mice Reversed
CNN's live fact check of Trump's address to Congress said he falsely claimed that $8 million had been spent on making mice transgender.
Esquire: George H.W. Bush Pardoned His Son Neil
Defending President Biden's pardon of Hunter Biden, an Esquire column said President George H.W. Bush had pardoned his son Neil after the savings-and-loan scandal.
2024 'Coin Flip' Forecasts vs. a Trump Sweep of All Seven Swing States
Final 2024 forecasts called the presidential race essentially a 50-50 toss-up. FiveThirtyEight gave Harris about a 50 percent chance and Trump about 49 percent, and Nate Silver's final model also landed at roughly 50-50 with a slight Harris edge.
Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll Had Harris Up 3; Trump Won by 13
Three days before the election, Ann Selzer's final Iowa Poll for the Des Moines Register showed Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump 47 percent to 44 percent among likely voters in Iowa, which caused a national stir.
BBC Panorama Splices Trump's Jan. 6 Speech
A Panorama documentary aired a week before the 2024 election. It joined two parts of Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 speech into what looked like one continuous call to march on the Capitol and fight.
60 Minutes' Two Versions of Harris's Israel Answer
60 Minutes and Face the Nation aired two different excerpts of Kamala Harris's answer to the same question about Netanyahu. The 60 Minutes version was shorter and tighter.
The JD Vance Couch Hoax and AP's Pulled Fact Check
A viral claim said Vance's memoir described sex with a couch. AP published a fact check on it, then took the fact check down.
CNN: Trump Rushed Off Stage 'After He Falls'
Minutes after shots were fired at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, CNN's live page said the Secret Service rushed him off stage after he fell.
Biden age videos framed as "cheap fakes" days before the debate
In mid-June 2024, the White House called viral clips of President Biden "cheap fakes," and prominent coverage emphasized that videos fueling doubts about his age were misleadingly edited.
Trump 'Bloodbath' Headlines Stripped of Auto-Industry Context
Headlines said Trump predicted a 'bloodbath' if he lost, which read as a threat of political violence.
Stephanopoulos Says Trump Was 'Found Liable for Rape'
On ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos told Rep. Nancy Mace that Trump had been found liable for rape in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Gaza hospital blast blamed on Israeli strike with ~500 dead
On Oct. 17, 2023, prominent headlines attributed an explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City to an Israeli airstrike and reported hundreds dead, relying on statements from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The '40 Beheaded Babies' Report
Outlets reported that Hamas had killed and beheaded about 40 babies in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023.
The 2022 'Red Wave' That Never Came
Ahead of the 2022 midterms, Fox News hosts including Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo, plus commentators like Marc Thiessen, predicted a Republican wave or even a 'red tsunami.' RealClearPolitics projected Republicans would reach 54 Senate seats, and FiveThirtyEight's final forecast favored Republicans to win both chambers.
Ukraine War Myths: 'Ghost of Kyiv' and Snake Island 'Martyrs'
Snake Island's 13 defenders were reported killed after defying a Russian warship, and a single Ukrainian ace, the 'Ghost of Kyiv', was said to be downing Russian jets.
NPR: Gorsuch Refused to Mask After Being 'Asked'
NPR reported that Chief Justice Roberts had asked the justices to mask up for Justice Sotomayor's sake, and that Justice Gorsuch refused, which forced her to work from her chambers.
Border Patrol agents "whipping" Haitian migrants in Del Rio
Photos and video of mounted Border Patrol agents confronting Haitian migrants near Del Rio, Texas, were widely described as agents whipping or using whips on migrants.
Ivermectin overdoses said to leave Oklahoma gunshot victims waiting
Rolling Stone, building on a KFOR interview with an Oklahoma ER doctor, ran a headline saying gunshot victims were left waiting because horse-dewormer overdoses were overwhelming Oklahoma hospitals.
Joe Rogan Took 'Horse Dewormer'
After Joe Rogan said he had COVID-19 and had taken ivermectin, CNN and other outlets described the drug he took as a livestock or horse dewormer.
The FBI 'Warning' to Giuliani That Never Happened
All three outlets reported that the FBI had warned Rudy Giuliani in 2019 that he was the target of a Russian disinformation operation.
60 Minutes Suggests DeSantis Gave Publix Vaccines as 'Pay to Play'
60 Minutes suggested that a $100,000 Publix donation to Gov. Ron DeSantis's campaign helped the grocery chain win the job of giving out COVID-19 vaccines in Florida.
WaPo's 'Find the Fraud' Trump Quote
Citing an anonymous source, the Post reported that Trump told a Georgia elections investigator to find the fraud and that she would be a national hero.
Officer Sicknick 'Killed by Fire Extinguisher'
Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was reported to have died after rioters struck him with a fire extinguisher on January 6.
2020 Polls Posted the Worst National Error in 40 Years
Final-stretch 2020 polls, widely reported by news outlets, showed Joe Biden with a large national lead and comfortable margins in key states.
ABC/Washington Post Had Biden Up 17 in Wisconsin; He Won by 0.6
An ABC News/Washington Post poll released a week before Election Day showed Biden leading Trump 57 percent to 40 percent among likely Wisconsin voters, a 17-point lead.
Hunter Biden's Laptop Framed as Russian Disinformation
After the New York Post published emails from a laptop attributed to Hunter Biden, Politico ran a story headlined that the story was Russian disinformation according to dozens of former intelligence officials. The 51 signers' letter itself said they had no evidence of Russian involvement, only that it bore the earmarks of an information operation; Twitter and Facebook limited the Post's story.
Newsweek: Barrett's Faith Group Inspired 'The Handmaid's Tale'
Newsweek's headline said People of Praise, the Christian community Amy Coney Barrett belongs to, inspired Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale.'
Kyle Rittenhouse said to have crossed state lines with his rifle
Coverage of the August 2020 Kenosha shootings repeatedly said Rittenhouse had brought or carried his rifle from Illinois into Wisconsin, a detail used to suggest he arrived armed for a fight.
Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops
The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence had concluded a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered Taliban-linked militants bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan. The story set off weeks of coverage of what the president knew.
Bubba Wallace 'Noose' Framed as Targeted Hate Act
A noose was left in Black driver Bubba Wallace's Talladega garage stall, and the coverage treated it as a deliberate racist act aimed at him.
Lafayette Square Cleared 'for a Photo Op'
Outlets reported that police tear-gassed peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square to clear the way for President Trump's walk to St. John's Church and his Bible photo op. NPR's headline stated the clearing was done to clear the way for the photo op.
Meet the Press Cuts Barr's Flynn Answer Mid-Thought
Chuck Todd aired a clip of Attorney General Barr saying history is written by the winners about dropping the Flynn case, then said Barr had not invoked the rule of law.
Politico: Trump Owes Bank of China Millions
Politico reported that Trump, through a Manhattan building partnership, owed tens of millions of dollars to state-owned Bank of China on a loan coming due in 2022.
Politico: Trump Treats Coronavirus as a 'Hoax'
Politico's rally story was headlined as Trump rallying his base to treat coronavirus as a 'hoax' and said he called the virus 'their new hoax.'
COVID lab-leak hypothesis labeled a "debunked conspiracy theory"
In February 2020 The Washington Post said Sen. Tom Cotton was repeating a coronavirus conspiracy theory that had already been debunked, after he raised the possibility that the virus came from a Wuhan lab. Facebook later treated claims that the virus was man-made as removable misinformation.
Early 2020: 'Worry About the Flu, Not Coronavirus'
In late January 2020, prominent headlines told Americans the flu was a bigger worry than the new coronavirus.
Newsweek: Trump's Thanksgiving of 'Tweeting and Golfing'
Newsweek reported that Trump would spend Thanksgiving 2019 tweeting and golfing.
Outlets Pin 2015 Child-Detention Figure on Trump
Wire services and NPR reported a U.N. expert's finding that the U.S. was holding over 100,000 migrant children in detention, presented as current Trump-era practice.
ABC Airs Kentucky Gun Range Video as Syria Combat
ABC aired footage that it presented as Turkey's attack on Kurdish-held northern Syria.
New Kavanaugh misconduct allegations missing key context
A September 2019 New York Times Sunday Review essay adapted from a book by two Times reporters presented a new allegation of Kavanaugh's college misconduct; in 2018, Julie Swetnick's sworn declaration of drugging and gang rapes at parties was widely broadcast.
O'Donnell: Russian Oligarchs Co-Signed Trump's Loans
MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell said on air and on Twitter that a single source told him Trump's Deutsche Bank loan documents showed Russian oligarchs as co-signers.
Jussie Smollett's reported hate-crime attack
Actor Jussie Smollett was widely reported, based on his account and initial police statements, to have been the victim of a racist and homophobic assault by two men in Chicago in January 2019. Many commentators and public figures treated the attack as established fact.
Telegraph Pays Damages Over 'The Mystery of Melania'
A Telegraph Magazine cover story made claims about Melania Trump's family, education, modeling career and her reaction on election night.
Nathan Phillips Called a Vietnam Combat Veteran
Coverage of the Lincoln Memorial encounter with Covington Catholic students described Native American activist Nathan Phillips as having fought in the Vietnam War.
Covington Catholic students cast as aggressors at the Lincoln Memorial
Based on a short viral clip, national outlets portrayed a group of Covington Catholic High School students, especially junior Nick Sandmann, as having surrounded, taunted and blocked a Native American elder, Nathan Phillips, near the Lincoln Memorial.
BuzzFeed: Trump 'directed' Cohen to lie to Congress
Citing two federal law enforcement officials, BuzzFeed News reported that President Trump personally directed his lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations, and that the special counsel had learned this from witnesses and documents.
NPR Says Trump Jr.'s Testimony Conflicts With Cohen's Plea
NPR reported that Donald Trump Jr. told Senate investigators the Trump Tower Moscow project faded away in 2014, conflicting with Cohen's plea and suggesting legal exposure.
Guardian: Manafort held secret talks with Assange
Citing unnamed sources, The Guardian (Luke Harding and Dan Collyns) reported that Paul Manafort visited Julian Assange at Ecuador's London embassy in 2013, 2015 and around March 2016, months before WikiLeaks released the Democratic emails.
NBC: Trump Called Robert E. Lee 'Incredible'; He Meant Grant
NBC News tweeted a clip saying Trump called Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee 'incredible' at an Ohio rally.
NYT Pins Obama-Era $52,701 Curtains on Nikki Haley
A Times story and headline tied $52,701 in State Department curtain spending to U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley amid budget cuts, illustrated with her photo.
CNN: Cohen Says Trump Knew of Trump Tower Meeting in Advance
CNN reported, citing sources, that Michael Cohen was prepared to tell Mueller that Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians.
TIME's Crying-Girl Cover: The Toddler Who Wasn't Separated
TIME's reporting on John Moore's photo of a crying 2-year-old Honduran girl said she was carried off by agents, and the magazine put her on its cover beside Trump as the face of family separation.
AP Deletes Tweet Saying Trump Called Border-Crossers 'Animals'
AP tweeted that Trump referred to people crossing the border illegally as 'animals'; CNN and others framed the remark as aimed at immigrants generally.
NBC: Feds 'Wiretapped' Michael Cohen; It Was a Call Log
NBC News reported that federal investigators had wiretapped the phones of Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, including a call with the White House.
McClatchy: Mueller has evidence Cohen went to Prague
McClatchy reported that Mueller's investigators had evidence Michael Cohen secretly traveled to Prague in late summer 2016, which would have confirmed a key Steele dossier allegation. A follow-up in December 2018 said Cohen's phone had pinged cell towers near Prague around that time.
Nunes Memo Written Off as a Flop, Then Partly Borne Out by the IG
Coverage of the Nunes memo largely cast it as a misleading dud that failed to show problems with the FBI's Carter Page surveillance, while the Democratic rebuttal memo said the FBI had not omitted material facts.
WaPo reporter's 'empty arena' photo of Trump's Pensacola rally
Washington Post reporter Dave Weigel tweeted a photo of the Pensacola rally venue that suggested the arena was largely empty for Trump's speech.
CNN gets the date wrong on a WikiLeaks email to the Trumps
CNN reported that on Sept. 4, 2016, an email offered Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. a website and decryption key for hacked WikiLeaks documents, which would have been before the documents were public.
Bloomberg and WSJ: Mueller subpoenaed Trump's own Deutsche Bank records
Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that Special Counsel Mueller had subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for records of President Trump's and his family's accounts, saying the probe had zeroed in on Trump's own business dealings.
ABC's Brian Ross: Trump told Flynn to contact Russians 'as a candidate'
Citing a confidant of Michael Flynn, Brian Ross reported on air that Flynn was ready to testify that candidate Trump had directed him to make contact with Russian officials during the campaign.
Trump 'dumps' fish food into a koi pond in Japan
Headlines, tweets and tightly cropped clips presented President Trump as impatiently dumping an entire box of fish food into a koi pond at Akasaka Palace while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked on.
NBC: Trump wanted a 'tenfold' increase in the nuclear arsenal
Citing three officials present, NBC reported that at a July 20, 2017 Pentagon meeting Trump said he wanted a nearly tenfold increase in U.S. nuclear warheads, back toward Cold War peak levels.
Charlottesville 'Very Fine People'
Coverage of Trump's Aug. 15, 2017 press conference framed his 'very fine people on both sides' remark as a defense of white nationalists, and the shorthand that he called neo-Nazis very fine people was repeated for years. The Atlantic's headline said he defended white-nationalist protesters.
NYT's 'leaked' climate report had been public for months
A front-page Times story said scientists feared the Trump administration would suppress a draft federal climate report that had not been made public, and that a copy had been leaked to the paper.
Polish first lady 'snubs' Trump's handshake
Outlets ran a few-second clip from Trump's Warsaw visit as proof that Poland's first lady, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, refused to shake Trump's hand.
NYT and AP correct the '17 intelligence agencies' agreed claim
The Times and AP repeatedly reported that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies agreed Russia had interfered in the 2016 election, using the figure to fault Trump for doubting it.
CNN retracts story tying Scaramucci to a Russian investment fund
A CNN investigative article said Congress was examining a Russian investment fund (the Russian Direct Investment Fund) whose CEO had allegedly met Trump associate Anthony Scaramucci shortly before the inauguration. The story rested on a single anonymous source.
CNN: Comey 'Expected to Refute' Trump
Citing sources, CNN reported that James Comey would dispute Trump's claim that Comey had told him he was not under investigation.
Comey 'asked for more resources' for the Russia probe days before he was fired
The day after Comey's firing, multiple outlets reported, citing congressional and other officials, that Comey had asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for a significant increase in resources for the Russia investigation shortly before Trump fired him.
Maddow's 'breaking' Trump tax scoop: two pages showing $38M paid
MSNBC heavily promoted a breaking-news exclusive on Trump's tax returns, which many viewers and Democratic figures took to mean damaging new revelations.
NYT: Trump aides had 'repeated contacts' with Russian intelligence
Citing four current and former officials, the Times reported that phone records and intercepted calls showed Trump campaign members and associates in repeated contact with senior Russian intelligence officials during the year before the 2016 election.
WaPo: State Department's 'entire senior management team' resigns
A widely shared Washington Post piece reported that the State Department's entire senior management team had suddenly resigned in Trump's first week, which many outlets framed as a protest exodus.
MLK bust reported 'removed' from the Oval Office
On Inauguration Day, a White House pool report and TIME's Zeke Miller reported that a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. had been taken out of the Oval Office.
The Steele Dossier Goes Public
Mother Jones reported in October 2016 that a veteran Western spy had given the FBI memos alleging a years-long Russian operation to cultivate and compromise Donald Trump. In January 2017 BuzzFeed published the full 35-page dossier, noting it was unverified, and its allegations drove years of coverage.
Washington Post: Russian hackers 'penetrated' the US grid via a Vermont utility
Citing unnamed U.S. officials, The Washington Post reported that code tied to a Russian hacking operation had been found inside a Vermont utility, which it said showed that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electricity grid.
Muslim student's report of Trump supporters harassing her on NYC subway
Outlets reported that three drunk men shouting 'Donald Trump' had harassed Baruch College student Yasmin Seweid on a Manhattan subway and tried to pull off her hijab while riders watched.
WaPo Promotes the PropOrNot 'Russian Propaganda' List
The Post reported that a Russian propaganda campaign helped spread fake news during the 2016 election, relying in part on an anonymous group, PropOrNot, which listed 200+ sites as propaganda outlets or echoes.
'Heil Trump' graffiti on Indiana church was painted by its organist
Days after the election, outlets reported that St. David's Episcopal Church in Bean Blossom, Indiana, an LGBT-inclusive parish, had been vandalized with 'Heil Trump', a swastika and an anti-gay slur, and presented it as post-election hate.
Louisiana student's 'Trump hat' hijab attack was fabricated
The day after the election, national outlets reported a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student's account that two men, one in a white Trump hat, beat her, robbed her and pulled off her hijab.
Krugman: Markets Would 'Never' Recover From Trump
Writing on election night as stock futures plunged, NYT columnist Paul Krugman said the first-pass answer to when markets would recover was never, and that the world was probably facing a global recession with no end in sight.
Princeton Forecaster Called Clinton a 99% Lock, Then Ate a Bug on CNN
Sam Wang's Princeton Election Consortium gave Clinton a greater than 99 percent chance in one version of its model (93 percent in its final revised projection), calling the race for her in October. On CNN's Smerconish shortly before the election, Wang said he would eat a bug if Trump won more than 240 electoral votes.
The Upshot Gave Clinton About an 85% Chance
The New York Times' Upshot forecast put Hillary Clinton's chance of winning the presidency at roughly 85 percent heading into Election Day, listed at 84 percent in its final reading, giving Trump about 16 percent.
HuffPost's Model Gave Clinton a 98% Chance and Mocked Nate Silver for Doubting It
HuffPost Pollster's presidential model put Hillary Clinton's chance of winning at about 98 percent on Election Day. Days earlier, HuffPost Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim wrote that Nate Silver's far less confident FiveThirtyEight forecast was tilting the polls toward Trump and amounted to guesswork dressed up as math.
'Vote Trump' church arson in Mississippi was by a congregation member
A week before the election, outlets widely reported the burning of Hopewell M.B. Church, a historically Black church in Greenville, Mississippi, spray-painted with 'Vote Trump', as a likely racially or politically motivated hate crime.
The Trump-Alfa Bank 'Secret Server'
Slate reported that computer scientists studying DNS logs believed a Trump Organization server was carrying on a sustained, human-like pattern of communication with servers of Russia's Alfa Bank, suggesting a covert channel. The piece called the evidence suggestive rather than conclusive.
WaPo: Trump's Chances 'Approaching Zero'
Two weeks before the 2016 election, a Washington Post analysis headline declared that Donald Trump's chances of winning were approaching zero.
CNN's Cuomo: It's 'illegal' for the public to possess the WikiLeaks emails
Introducing a segment on hacked Podesta emails in mid-October 2016, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo told viewers it was illegal to possess the stolen documents and that the rules were different for the media.
Carter Page Cast as a Russian Agent
Yahoo News reported that U.S. intelligence officials were probing whether Trump adviser Carter Page had opened private channels with senior Kremlin officials, including talk of lifting sanctions. In April 2017 the Washington Post reported the FBI had obtained a FISA warrant on the basis that Page was acting as an agent of Russia, and he was widely portrayed as a suspected Russian agent.
Daily Mail retracts and pays damages over Melania Trump 'escort' claims
A Daily Mail article on Melania Trump's 1990s modeling career repeated allegations that she had provided services beyond modeling, and suggested the Trumps' account of how they met was staged.
Politico's Ben Carson West Point 'Fabrication' Headline
Politico's exclusive headline said Ben Carson's campaign admitted he fabricated a West Point scholarship, implying he had falsely claimed to have applied and been admitted.
Final Bluegrass Poll Had Conway Up 5; Bevin Won by 9
The final media-sponsored Bluegrass Poll showed Democrat Jack Conway leading Republican Matt Bevin 45% to 40% days before Kentucky's 2015 governor's race.
Media Dismissed Trump's Candidacy as a Sideshow
In July 2015, HuffPost announced it would cover Trump's campaign in its Entertainment section rather than Politics, calling it a sideshow. In November 2015, FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver told the media to stop freaking out about Trump's poll leads, putting his nomination chances at well under 20 percent.
NYT Keeps Ted Cruz Off Bestseller List Over Unshown 'Bulk Purchases'
The Times excluded Sen. Ted Cruz's memoir 'A Time for Truth' from its bestseller list, saying an overwhelming preponderance of evidence showed sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.
Memories Pizza Framed as Refusing Service to Gay Customers
Amid the Indiana RFRA fight, ABC57 headlined that a Walkerton pizzeria was the first local business to publicly deny same-sex service, and national outlets said it would deny service to LGBT people.
Rolling Stone's "A Rape on Campus" at UVA
Rolling Stone published a detailed account of a student, called Jackie, being gang-raped at a University of Virginia fraternity party, and portrayed the university as indifferent.
Washington Post Poll Had Brown Up 9 in Maryland; Hogan Won
A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll showed Democrat Anthony Brown leading Republican Larry Hogan 47% to 38% among likely voters in the Maryland governor's race.
NBC/Marist Had Orman Up 10 in Kansas; Roberts Won by 11
An NBC News/Marist poll showed independent Greg Orman leading Republican Sen. Pat Roberts 48% to 38% among likely Kansas voters.
"Hands up, don't shoot" in Ferguson
After Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, coverage widely relayed witness accounts that Brown had his hands raised in surrender when he was killed, which became the rallying cry of the protests.
Scott Walker 'Criminal Scheme' Headlines
Unsealed John Doe filings produced national headlines that Gov. Scott Walker was part of, or at the center of, a 'criminal scheme' to illegally coordinate fundraising with outside conservative groups.
NYT Quietly Softens Its Christie 'Bombshell'
The Times first reported that former Port Authority official David Wildstein said Gov. Chris Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge lane closures and that Wildstein had the evidence to prove it.
NY Post's 'Bag Men' Boston Marathon Cover
The Post's front page showed two young men at the marathon under the headline 'Bag Men', implying federal investigators were looking for them.
CNN's False 'Arrest Made' in Boston Bombing
On April 17, 2013, CNN reported that a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing had been arrested.
MSNBC: Sandy Hook Father 'Heckled by Gun Nuts'
MSNBC posted a video titled to say a grieving Sandy Hook father was heckled by 'gun nuts' at a Connecticut gun-control hearing; local coverage also said he was heckled.
Sandy Hook: Wrong Brother Named as Shooter
Many outlets named Ryan Lanza as the Sandy Hook Elementary gunman, and some circulated his Facebook profile and photo.
Candy Crowley's Live Debate 'Fact Check' on Libya
Moderating the second presidential debate, CNN's Candy Crowley interjected to side with President Obama that he had called the Benghazi attack an act of terror, undercutting Mitt Romney mid-exchange.
Benghazi Attack Reported as a Protest Over an Anti-Islam Film
Early coverage described the Benghazi consulate attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens as an angry mob protesting a film that mocked the Prophet Muhammad.
Harry Reid's Anonymous 'Romney Paid No Taxes' Claim Gets a Megaphone
HuffPost reported Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's claim that an unnamed Bain investor told him Mitt Romney had paid no taxes for ten years, a claim that then spread widely.
ABC Links Aurora Shooter to the Tea Party
During live coverage of the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting, ABC's Brian Ross suggested that a Jim Holmes listed with a Colorado Tea Party group might be the suspect.
MSNBC's Clipped Romney 'Wawa' Moment
MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell aired a short clip of Mitt Romney marveling at a Wawa touchscreen ordering kiosk and likened it to George H.W. Bush's 1992 supermarket-scanner gaffe, implying Romney was out of touch with ordinary technology.
Wisconsin Recall Exit Polls Called It a Toss-Up; Walker Won by 7
Early exit-poll reporting on election night portrayed Scott Walker's recall race as too close to call, with voters split roughly evenly between Walker and Tom Barrett.
BBC Illustrates Syria's Houla Massacre With a 2003 Iraq Photo
BBC News ran a photo of rows of shrouded bodies as an image of the Houla massacre in Syria.
NBC's Edited Zimmerman 911 Call
NBC's Today show aired a version of George Zimmerman's 911 call that made it sound as if he volunteered that Trayvon Martin was Black.