ABC's Benghazi Scoop Misquoted a White House Email
ABC's Jonathan Karl reported that a top White House aide's email backed State Department concerns about the Benghazi talking points, presenting the wording as if from the emails themselves.
The misquote made the White House appear more directly involved in scrubbing terror references.
What was reported
ABC's Jonathan Karl reported that a top White House aide's email backed State Department concerns about the Benghazi talking points, presenting the wording as if from the emails themselves.
What actually happened
Karl's exclusive on the 12 revisions of the talking points relied on summaries from a source rather than the emails. CNN's Jake Tapper obtained the actual White House email, which did not mention the State Department as Karl's version did, and the White House then released the full chain. Karl said he regretted that the email was quoted inaccurately and that he should have been clearer about sourcing, while maintaining the broader story stood.
The proof
The actual email obtained by CNN and the White House's full release of the email chain differed from ABC's quoted version.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
ABC's Benghazi Scoop Misquoted a White House Email — Retracted. The actual email obtained by CNN and the White House's full release of the email chain differed from ABC's quoted version. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/abc-karl-benghazi-email-quotes-2013/
Original reporting
- ABC News: Exclusive — Benghazi talking points underwent 12 revisionshttps://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/exclusive-benghazi-talking-points-underwent-12-revisions-scrubbed-of-terror-references
Corrections, findings & records
- NPR: ABC's Karl expresses regret but stands by Benghazi storyhttps://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/05/20/185544994/abcs-karl-expresses-regret-but-stands-by-benghazi-story
- Mediaite: CNN obtains email contradicting ABC reporthttps://www.mediaite.com/online/cnn-obtains-white-house-email-which-contradicts-abc-news-report-on-benghazi-leaks/
- NBC News: The flawed reporting that touched off a firestormhttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/flawed-reporting-touched-firestorm-flna1C9931430
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: ABC News: Exclusive — Benghazi talking points underwent 12 revisionshttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/exclusive-benghazi-talking-points-underwent-12-revisions-scrubbed-of-terror-references