Saturday, October 31, 2026Every claim sourced. Every source linked.
The record of what the American press got wrong, and who it helped
The Big Lies › 2015 › File PF-0047
Retracted

Brian Williams' Iraq Helicopter Story

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams said on air that he had been in a helicopter forced down by an RPG in Iraq in 2003, a story he had told in various forms for years.

First reported Jan 30, 2015 · NBC News
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: stripes.com. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Neither party

A personal embellishment by an anchor rather than a partisan narrative.

What was reported

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams said on air that he had been in a helicopter forced down by an RPG in Iraq in 2003, a story he had told in various forms for years.

What actually happened

Soldiers who flew in the aircraft told Stars and Stripes his helicopter had arrived after the one that was hit. Williams apologized on February 4, 2015, NBC opened an internal review, and he was suspended for six months without pay and later moved to MSNBC.

The proof

Crew members' accounts to Stars and Stripes and Williams' own on-air retraction established that his helicopter did not take fire.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

Brian Williams' Iraq Helicopter Story — Retracted. Crew members' accounts to Stars and Stripes and Williams' own on-air retraction established that his helicopter did not take fire. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/brian-williams-iraq-helicopter/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.

Get the daily file.