Monday, April 23, 2018

Boston Globe's News Fabrication Scandal Is Nothing New For Journalism

In the latest episode of alleged "Fake news" in high places, the Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen was placed on leave after hosts on WEEI claimed the columnist-part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news during the Boston Marathon bombings-falsely inserted himself at the scene of the terror attack.

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams was suspended for six months after admitting he told a false story about coming under fire while covering the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The New York Times suffered a huge embarrassment when it was discovered that reporter Jayson Blair fabricated comments and falsely created the impression he had been places or witnessed people in dozens of stories.

Consider further the case of Jack Kelley, a star reporter for USA Today who was found to have fabricated substantial portions of at least eight major stories that spanned the globe, including a Pulitzer finalist.

In 2004, Fox News apologized to Sen. John Kerry after publishing a supposed "Joke" article by Carl Cameron, one of Fox's more respected reporters, that Kerry had received a manicure before a presidential debate, complete with fabricated quotes.

The emotional content of such stories also likely accounts for why fake news spreads faster than real news.

If the Boston Globe concludes the accusations against Cullen are true, his career may well be at an end.

http://thefederalist.com/2018/04/23/boston-globes-news-fabrication-scandal-nothing-new-journalism/ 

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