Investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson has given the New York Times one last chance to correct a fake news story involving her before she turns her lawyers loose on them. They published a story that claimed there were five coronavirus doubters and that Attkisson was one of them. Never once did she write that she thought the virus was man made or that the virus was a scam or a hoax.
The closest she came was early on when only 30 people had died. That was an accurate report and happens to mirror the Times reporting at the same time. But the times then tried to use her past reporting to make it seem like she wrote that after all the new information came out. Attkisson never denied that the virus was a serious threat and she even wrote that her readers should keep checking the CDC website for updates.
Her lawyer listed 10 inaccuracies and outright lies in the article:
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The false and defamatory headline, “From Jerry Falwell Jr to Dr. Drew: 5 Coronavirus Doubters.”
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“While public health experts warn people to take precautions, these popular media figures insist that the virus is overhyped.”
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“Misinformation about the coronavirus continues to circulate across swaths of the American media – on popular podcasts, in blog podcasts, in blog posts, in online videos and on prime-time cable news shows – as recently as this week.”
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“Some are conservatives who insist the virus is being hyped for political purposes.”
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“Even as President Trump and the federal government’s top public health officials warn that the virus is not something to be taken lightly – and the authorities reported more coronavirus deaths in the United States on Wednesday – these commentators make misleading comments, cherry-pick facts and go so far as to claim that the virus could be a hoax or a North Korean Plot.”
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“One of Mr. Hannity’s top sources [Ms. Attkisson] selectively picks facts.”
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“In the past, she [Ms. Attkisson] has promoted the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism.”
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“The facts she has chosen recently to highlight falsely leave the impression that the deaths are not all that significant in number and largely contained to one facility.”
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“‘Look at those 30-some-odd deaths – most of them were from Washington State,’ Ms. Attkisson said last week on her podcast, adding that most of those were in an assisted-living facility. ‘The vast majority of those who passed away were from one cluster in the United States – almost none anywhere else.’”
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“And yet visitors to Ms. Attkisson’s website this week might have come away confused about the severity of the virus, as there were several ads for high-grade protective masks.”
As Attkisson’s attorney noted, the Times did not always specifically state how the investigative reporter dismissed the coronavirus, instead lumping her in with four other individuals and claiming things like “these popular media figures insist that the virus is overhyped.” Wilson also took issue with the claims directly written about Attkisson.
“[I]t bears noting that the portion of the Article directly referencing Ms. Attkisson is equally problematic and actionable. In it, the Times chose in its editorial discretion to affix defamatory labels to otherwise accurate and fair reporting conducted by Ms. Attkisson. For instance, the Times reiterated its “cherry-picking” accusation by asserting that my client highlighted selective facts that ‘falsely leave the impression that the deaths are not all that significant in number and largely contained to one facility,’” Wilson wrote. “It comes as no surprise that my client’s accurate and factual reporting in this regard mirrors the Times’ own reporting on the virus, including that at the time of publication the deaths in the United States numbered approximately 30 and that they were concentrated in Washington State, and a nursing home facility in particular.”