That’s Lindsey Bever, a national reporter at the Washington Post. Yesterday, she and others reported that George Zimmerman, the ex-neighborhood watchman acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin, had compared himself to Holocaust victim Anne Frank.
George Zimmerman compares himself to Anne Frank, says Obama victimized him http://t.co/s9ssucTtrx pic.twitter.com/Ac7vUXWmJW
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) March 23, 2015
#Zimmerman compares himself to #AnneFrank @tammiefields hears the community's opinion on thishttp://t.co/mkIR7xl0nI pic.twitter.com/2R6NmGeZa8
— 10News WTSP (@10NewsWTSP) March 24, 2015
George Zimmerman blames Obama, compares himself to Anne Frank http://t.co/SfA5XZLJhg #NowTrending
— KTNV Action News (@KTNV) March 24, 2015
Zimmerman acusa a Obama de crear tensión racial y se compara con Anne Frankhttp://t.co/FCUnuhT7RZ
— Yahoo Noticias (@YahooNoticias) March 25, 2015
Just one problem: It isn’t true. Zimmerman’s video (available here) shows what he actually said:
I do try and keep my ideals the same. I do try and remain pragmatic. Because despite it all, I still believe that people are truly good at heart, as Anne Frank has said. And I will put myself in any position to help another human in any way I can.
He described one of his ideals, then mentioned that Frank shared that particular ideal. That is quite different from comparing himself to Frank.
The Post implicitly acknowledged its smear when it quietly changed its headline yesterday.
Old headline:
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“George Zimmerman compares himself to Anne Frank, blames Obama for his woes”
“George Zimmerman compares his ideals to Anne Frank’s, blames Obama for woes”
The URL of the Post article remains unchanged:
http://m.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/24/george-zimmerman-compares-himself-to-anne-frank-blames-obama-for-his-woes/
The Post has not run a retraction, correction, or apology.
The Post apparently ignored its own corrections policy,which states that corrections should be noted at the top of the story:
When a correction is made online, the story editor is responsible for alerting universal, home-page and social teams to make the necessary changes to headlines and blurbs. The change should be made within the article and the correction should also be noted at the top of the item.
Predictably, the misreported story led to quite the hate-fest on Twitter. A few examples:
Shut. the. fuck. up. RT @TPM George Zimmerman compares himself to Anne Frank, says Obama victimized him http://t.co/KhMBxd0fUP
— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) March 23, 2015
George Zimmerman: redefining "asshole" since 2013: Compares Himself To Anne Frank, Says Obama Victimized Him @TPM http://t.co/dDQ4MO6thK
— John Halbert (@JohnTEQP) March 23, 2015
Disgusting piece of shit! RT @BillyCorben: George Zimmerman compares himself to Anne Frank, says Obama victimized him pic.twitter.com/IBD8C000Ks
— ? (@MJFinesseLover) March 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/OmniAim/status/580412419110993920
Fuck off, Zimmerman. How dare you sully and lessen Anne Frank's horrors by comparing it to your self-inflicted problems. You are disgusting.
— Female Enlightenment (@OlympedeGouges) March 23, 2015
Zimmerman compared himself 2 Anne Frank & lashed out at President Obama ?? What is this child killer allowed to roam this planet? Disgusting
— Teri McClain (@terileemcclain) March 24, 2015
Zimmerman hasn’t tweeted since September, but the first sentence of his last tweet sums it all up:
https://twitter.com/TherealGeorgeZ/status/516892726915526656
Update:
The Post has published a correction:
Correction: An earlier headline on this post incorrectly said Zimmerman compared himself to Anne Frank.
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