NYT: Malik Posted Openly About Jihad on Social Media
The Times reported that San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik had talked openly on social media about her support for jihad and that immigration officials missed it during her visa vetting.
The error fed Republican arguments that the Obama administration's vetting ignored open warning signs.
What was reported
The Times reported that San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik had talked openly on social media about her support for jihad and that immigration officials missed it during her visa vetting.
What actually happened
FBI Director James Comey said days later that her communications were private direct messages, not public posts. The Times added an editor's note, and public editor Margaret Sullivan called for systemic change at the paper. Republican candidates had cited the report in a debate.
The proof
Comey's December 16, 2015 statement that the messages were private, followed by the Times' editor's note.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
NYT: Malik Posted Openly About Jihad on Social Media — Retracted. Comey's December 16, 2015 statement that the messages were private, followed by the Times' editor's note. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/nyt-tashfeen-malik-public-social-media/
Original reporting
- New York Times: U.S. visa process missed San Bernardino wife's zealotry on social media (with editor's note)https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/us/san-bernardino-attacks-us-visa-process-tashfeen-maliks-remarks-on-social-media-about-jihad-were-missed.html
Corrections, findings & records
- iMediaEthics: NYT adds editor's note to Malik storyhttps://www.imediaethics.org/nytimes-adds-editors-note-to-tashfeen-malik-social-media-story/
- iMediaEthics: public editor calls for systemic changehttps://www.imediaethics.org/public-editor-systemic-change-needed-at-times-after-tashfeen-malik-social-media-error/
- CNN Money: New York Times' San Bernardino mistakehttps://money.cnn.com/2015/12/18/media/new-york-times-mistake-san-bernardino/
- Poynter: Baquet says coverage revealed systemic failurehttps://www.poynter.org/news/dean-baquet-san-bernardino-coverage-revealed-systemic-failure-new-york-times
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: New York Times: U.S. visa process missed San Bernardino wife's zealotry on social media (with editor's note)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/us/san-bernardino-attacks-us-visa-process-tashfeen-maliks-remarks-on-social-media-about-jihad-were-missed.html