Silke Jasso
In an age where Americans are increasingly stating concern for fake news, media outlets are treading lightly in an effort to maintain their viewers’ trust.
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ABC News did not take such careful consideration and was forced to apologize as a result.
The media outlet misrepresented a series of tweets by Ari Fleischer, press secretary for former President George W. Bush, as highly critical of current White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Fleischer complained about ABC’s actions over Twitter.
"It looks to me if the ball was dropped on Saturday, Sean recovered it and ran for a 1st down on Monday." 2/4
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
Here is how they chopped my quote: "It looks to me if the ball was dropped on Saturday" after ABC referred to "deliberate falsehoods." 3/4
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
Cc: @Nightline I don't need an apology. But @ABC should acknowledge they made an error. https://t.co/PQKTA7N1du
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 24, 2017
He even retweeted the following:
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/823935871720259584
RELATED:Â After months of dismissal by the media, Press Secretary Sean Spicer finally let loose on the press
The following apology was eventually made:
“Nightline aired a segment Monday night about the first three days of the new administration including Sean Spicer’s statement to the press on Saturday. As part of the report, we interviewed former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. In editing the piece for air, his quote was shortened and as a result his opinions mischaracterized. We are fixing the piece online to include his full quote and context.”
“We apologize and regret the error,” the statement said.
Fleischer publicly thanked ABC for the correction:
ABC News Apologizes After Editing Former Bush Spox’s Praise of Sean Spicer to Sound Like Attack | Mediaite https://t.co/TLmNS9DLZ6
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) January 25, 2017
(H/T:Â The Hill)
