Couric's gun documentary invents an awkward silence from gun-rights advocates
The documentary Under the Gun, executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric, showed members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League sitting silently for about nine seconds after she asked how felons could be stopped from buying guns without background checks.
The edit served the gun-control side by making gun-rights advocates appear to have no answer.
What was reported
The documentary Under the Gun, executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric, showed members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League sitting silently for about nine seconds after she asked how felons could be stopped from buying guns without background checks.
What actually happened
Raw audio obtained by the Washington Free Beacon showed the group answered immediately and the exchange continued for several minutes. The director first defended the pause as a dramatic beat, but Couric later took responsibility, said the edit misrepresented the group, and posted a transcript of their answers. The group's $12 million defamation suit was dismissed in 2017, a ruling on libel law rather than on whether the edit was accurate.
The proof
The unedited interview audio and Couric's own written admission that the pause did not reflect the group's response.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
Couric's gun documentary invents an awkward silence from gun-rights advocates — Retracted. The unedited interview audio and Couric's own written admission that the pause did not reflect the group's response. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/couric-under-the-gun-edited-pause/
Original reporting
- Washington Free Beacon: Audio shows the documentary deceptively edited the interview (exposé of the original film)https://freebeacon.com/issues/audio-shows-katie-couric-gun-documentary-deceptively-edited-interview-pro-gun-activists/
Corrections, findings & records
- iMediaEthics: Katie Couric apologizes for misleading edithttps://www.imediaethics.org/katie-couric-apologizes-misleading-gun-edit/
- NPR: Manipulative editing reflects poorly on Couric and her gun documentaryhttps://www.npr.org/2016/05/26/479655743/manipulative-editing-reflects-poorly-on-couric-and-her-gun-documentary
- Fox 17 (AP): Gun group's defamation suit against Couric dismissedhttps://fox17online.com/2017/06/01/katie-couric-defamation-lawsuit-by-gun-club-dismissed/
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: Washington Free Beacon: Audio shows the documentary deceptively edited the interview (exposé of the original film)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://freebeacon.com/issues/audio-shows-katie-couric-gun-documentary-deceptively-edited-interview-pro-gun-activists/