NBC's Edited Zimmerman 911 Call

■ The claim

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.

■ What actually happened

The Today segment of March 27, 2012 cut out the dispatcher's question asking about the person's race, so Zimmerman's answer sounded unprompted. NBC said an internal review found a production error it deeply regretted, and it apologized to viewers. A Miami-based producer was fired. Zimmerman sued NBC for defamation. Judge Debra Nelson dismissed the suit on June 30, 2014, ruling that Zimmerman was a public figure and had not shown actual malice. He lost his appeal in December 2015.

■ The proof

NBC's own statement admitting the production error, the producer's firing, and the full 911 recording, which includes the dispatcher's question about race.

■ Original reporting

• Yahoo News / The Upshot: NBC fires producer over edited Zimmerman 911 callhttps://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/nbc-fires-producer-over-edited-zimmerman-911-call-201124740.html
• iMediaEthics: NBC producer fired over selectively edited callhttps://www.imediaethics.org/nbc-news-producer-fired-in-investigation-into-selectively-edited-george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-911-call/

■ Corrections, findings & records

• The World (PRI): NBC fires producer over doctored recordinghttps://theworld.org/stories/2016/07/31/george-zimmerman-911-call-nbc-fires-producer-over-doctored-recording
• CBS Miami: Judge dismisses Zimmerman's lawsuit against NBC (June 30, 2014)https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/judge-dismisses-zimmermans-lawsuit-against-nbc
• Boston Globe: Judge dismisses Zimmerman lawsuit against NBChttps://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/06/30/judge-dismisses-zimmerman-lawsuit-against-nbc/HvI3feYeExgmnqZr583CWP/story.html
• ClickOrlando: Zimmerman loses appeal in NBC defamation suit (Dec. 2015)https://clickorlando.com/news/2015/12/02/george-zimmerman-loses-appeal-in-nbc-defamation-lawsuit

■ Wayback Machine copies

Stories sometimes get edited after publication. These links open the Internet Archive's earliest snapshot of each original.

• Archive copy: Yahoo News / The Upshot: NBC fires producer over edited Zimmerman 911 callhttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/nbc-fires-producer-over-edited-zimmerman-911-call-201124740.html
• Archive copy: iMediaEthics: NBC producer fired over selectively edited callhttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.imediaethics.org/nbc-news-producer-fired-in-investigation-into-selectively-edited-george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-911-call/

■ Grade

RETRACTED: The outlet itself retracted, corrected, or settled. How we grade →