True story: When we did our post about the Washington Post going back and changing a 15-month-old headline to make a “debunked conspiracy theory” a “disputed fringe theory,” we had put “stealth-edits” in the headline. We took out the “stealth” bit after seeing that the Post had appended a correction. Nevertheless, it was journalism at its worst — had the Post not erroneously called the theory “debunked” just to stick it to Sen. Tom Cotton, they would have had no reason to go back and update it.
WaPo fact-checker Glenn Kessler noted that The Federalist had done a piece on the change and, being the fact-checker he is, disputed the claim that the Post had made the change “quietly.”
Somehow The Federalist managed to write a story saying The Washington Post "quietly" changed a headline on a 2020 Wuhan Labs story with ever mentioning we have a big correction at the top of the article noting the change in headline and in body of the story. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/zvgB1D5XDn
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) June 1, 2021
Update: the story now notes the correction.
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) June 1, 2021
Wow, that’s really big of you guys. It only took The Federalist 10 minutes to add the correction, while it took the Post 15 months.
Why is the Washington Post changing its headline, Glenn? https://t.co/BHKxOgfWzn
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 1, 2021
@GlennKesslerWP Will the headline be updated again if the lab leak theory is further substantiated? Are these "living articles" that evolve as more facts come out?
— Holden (@Holden114) June 1, 2021
I'll bookmark this article and check back in one year's time to see the headline and body completely validate the lab leak theory.
— Holden (@Holden114) June 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/BobbyWhippet/status/1399871676276514820
Nothing changed, the usual media corruption
— Cardigan Groovy, my IQ is not a race (@FlukeSeminal) June 1, 2021
Imagine going through the machinations WaPo has to go through to make it look like NBD.
Mind-twisting. pic.twitter.com/gaqB3AeBVu
— MinnieIsKitty (@stgreene61) June 1, 2021
Where can we find in that article and update what the original headline was?
— stevemur (@stevemur) June 1, 2021
Someone would have had to have taken a screenshot of the original headline … which they did.
Ask the fact checker what changed? pic.twitter.com/wFDpGDyCd8
— TheRightWingM 🇺🇸 (@TheRightWingM) June 1, 2021
The @FDRLST isn't the story here Glenn.
— Monsieur Miller (@NatrlBornMiller) June 1, 2021
Correct.
And why did the Post decide to make these changes, Glenn? Or don’t you want to inform the public that there may have been some truth to this when it was postulated last year? 🤔🤔🤔
— Warren Howeler (@downersgrove77) June 1, 2021
Somehow the Washington Post wrote a story about how the Wuhan Labs theory was false without ANY proof whatsoever except, Orange Man Bad
— Justin Biebighauser (@JBiebighauser) June 1, 2021
— ryan (@imryanphllpsbro) June 1, 2021
Why change it at all, doesn't WaPo stand by its work?
— I Might Be Donna (@Crypsis12) June 1, 2021
Why change the headline? Live with it.
— Steven Groves (@stevegroves) June 1, 2021
I think it would make for a good story to check in on what Rubin & Rhodes have to say. pic.twitter.com/59DqU2IKpP
— InMyHumbleOpinion (@IMHO1969) June 1, 2021
Hey, it’s Jennifer Rubin calling Sen. Tom Cotton “an irrational conspiracy monger.” Will she address that in her next column?
Given what you’ve admitted in the note, why on earth did you say the theory was “debunked” at the time? Does that word not mean what it used to mean?
— AshleeLee (@MsAshleeLee) June 1, 2021
And you clowns are still couching your words in the correction instead of saying “we were wrong”. You have no credibility, and every employee there besides the janitorial staff should consider a career in coding.
— Murph Doggydog (@PanterMurphy93) June 1, 2021
How much is Washington Post spending to promote the correction? How many people saw the original, incorrect story and will never see this correction?
— Scully 🇺🇸 (@scullytaco) June 1, 2021
The "correction" is God's gift to dishonest journalists.
Nobody sees it, but it's back where nobody's looking so you can trot it out and pretend you've "corrected the record".
It's like saying you corrected the record by saying it into a tin can.
Run a HEADLINE with the truth.
— Saeger Ryman (@saegerart) June 1, 2021
Fact checker, go do some research. See how much reach your original story had when posted on Twitter. That's the people who still believe your false information is true.
Then go look at how many people shared the "correction". You will notice a disparity.
— Saeger Ryman (@saegerart) June 1, 2021
How does your "correction" compare in visibility to the initial "story" in which you rejected a completely plausible theory that should have been investigated by any journalistic operation with integrity?
— No One of Significance (@Opined_Mind) June 1, 2021
Mr. Kessler, can't you find a profession where you have some semblance of dignity and honesty?
— Turtledove (@TurtledoveJB) June 1, 2021
Glenn and the Washington Post demonstrating why the entire fact checker wing of media is an irreparable mess.
They can hand out Pinocchios or whatever dumb gimmick they have to anyone they want.
They get it wrong? Just change it. Move on.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 1, 2021
Bonus:
— DennisDee Chief Wahoo (@DennisD35811908) June 1, 2021
Embarrassing.
Related:
Washington Post changes its 15-month-old headline about Sen. Tom Cotton’s debunked conspiracy theory https://t.co/oSqsdboR2b
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 1, 2021
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