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The Big Lies › 2019 › File PF-0075
Retracted

Outlets Pin 2015 Child-Detention Figure on Trump

Wire services and NPR reported a U.N. expert's finding that the U.S. was holding over 100,000 migrant children in detention, presented as current Trump-era practice.

First reported Nov 18, 2019 · Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, NPR
Screenshot of the original report as published
Screenshot of the report as published: npr.org. Tap to open the source.
Who it helped: Democrats

An Obama-era statistic was used to indict Trump's immigration enforcement.

What was reported

Wire services and NPR reported a U.N. expert's finding that the U.S. was holding over 100,000 migrant children in detention, presented as current Trump-era practice.

What actually happened

The U.N. study author had used a figure from 2015, under the Obama administration, and the U.N. issued a clarification the next day. Reuters withdrew its story with no replacement; AP withdrew and re-sent a version noting the number was a 2015 total; AFP unpublished; NPR pulled its story and posted a correction.

The proof

The U.N.'s statement that the figure was from 2015, and the outlets' own withdrawal notices.

The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:

Outlets Pin 2015 Child-Detention Figure on Trump — Retracted. The U.N.'s statement that the figure was from 2015, and the outlets' own withdrawal notices. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/un-100000-detained-children-obama-era-figure/

Original reporting

Corrections, findings & records

Archived copies

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

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