The damage is done and the cries of corruption have since dimmed, but no matter, a smear campaign is a smear campaign.
In the publishing world, the old saying is, “Get it first, but first, get it right.” That doesn’t seem to ring true in the publishing world these days.
One could reflect on the atrocious events of Jan. 6th at the U.S. Capitol. The death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, and how he was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher in a heinous and gruesome manner, reported the NY Times and many other outlets. But, Brian Sicknick wasn’t beaten with a fire extinguisher, it just happened to be great for a headline to convey the brutality of Trump supporters.
Recently, the Washington Post, issued a retraction-correction, to a story they reported on. Two-months after it was written and reputations tarnished even more. The phone call with the Georgia Secretary of State and Trump.
The Washington Post said, “Correction: Two months after publication of this story, the Georgia secretary of state released an audio recording of President Donald Trump’s December phone call with the state’s top elections investigator. The recording revealed that The Post misquoted Trump’s comments on the call, based on information provided by a source. Trump did not tell the investigator to “find the fraud” or say she would be “a national hero” if she did so. Instead, Trump urged the investigator to scrutinize ballots in Fulton County, Ga., asserting she would find “dishonesty” there. He also told her that she had “the most important job in the country right now.” A story about the recording can be found here. The headline and text of this story have been corrected to remove quotes misattributed to Trump.
Again, the damage is done and people have moved on to new targets.
Former President Trump released a statement on the correction by the Washington Post and calls for an election-fraud investigation in the Fulton County, Georgia.
“The Washington Post just issued a correction as to the contents of the incorrectly reported phone call I had with respect to voter fraud in the Great State of Georgia. While I appreciate the Washington Post’s correction, which immediately makes the Georgia Witch Hunt a non-story, the original story was a Hoax, right from the very beginning. I would further appreciate a strong investigation into Fulton County, Georgia, and the Stacey Abrams political machine which, I believe, would totally change the course of the presidential election in Georgia,” said Trump in a statement.
“Fulton County has not been properly audited for vote or signature verification. They only looked at areas of the State where there most likely would be few problems, and even there they found large numbers of mistakes. We are seeking to find and reveal the large-scale election fraud which took place in Georgia. Many residents agree, and their anger caused them not to turn out and vote for two Republican Senators in the January election.”
“The Consent Decree signed between Raffensperger and Stacey Abrams was not approved by the Georgia State Legislature, and therefore should be deemed invalid, and the election result changed. Why the Governor and Raffensperger ever approved this Consent Decree is one of the great questions? We look forward to an answer.”
“You will notice that establishment media errors, omissions, mistakes, and outright lies always slant one way—against me and against Republicans. Meanwhile, stories that hurt Democrats or undermine their narratives are buried, ignored, or delayed until they can do the least harm—for example, after an election is over. Look no further than the negative coverage of the vaccine that preceded the election and the overdue celebration of the vaccine once the election had concluded. A strong democracy requires a fair and honest press. This latest media travesty underscores that legacy media outlets should be regarded as political entities—not journalistic enterprises. In any event, I thank the Washington Post for the correction, ” Trump concluded.
Get it first, but first, get it right.
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