Associated Press fires reporter that almost started World War III over a false report...

 

A photo taken near the scene of the errant missile impact site. Fox News/AP.

The Associated Press has fired a reporter that almost started World War III with a false report about Russia launching a missile at Poland. Fox News. James LaPorta reported that Russia had launched a missile at Poland that had killed two farmers, citing an anonymous defense official. However, it became clear that the missile was actually an errant air defense missile that Ukraine had fired. The incident caused a major increase in tensions between the west and Russia and caused a minor panic that World War III was going to break out. LaPorta was terminated and released the following statement:

"The rigorous editorial standards and practices of The Associated Press are critical to AP’s mission as [an] independent news organization, to ensure our reporting is accurate fair and fact-based, we abide by and enforce these standards, including around the use of anonymous sources. When our standards are violated, we must take the steps necessary to protect the integrity of the news report.

My Comment:

I have long urged caution when a press outlet bases a report on anonymous sources. That's a red flag and it's even a bigger red flag when there is only one anonymous source. It's lazy reporting and when nobody is willing to go on the record there is a very good chance that the story is either wrong or completely made up. 

I am not sure what happened in this case though. It's possible that LaPorta simply made up the quote from the defense official. It wouldn't be the first time such a thing happened and he might have thought the gamble was worth it. It wasn't as the story was debunked fairly quickly and even the US government was skeptical of the idea that Russia would attack Poland deliberately. 

It's also possible that LaPorta's source was either lying or wrong. Without knowing who the source is it's pretty impossible to know if it's either case. My guess is it would be the 2nd outcome because I can't see why someone would lie about it given the obvious possible consequences. But it's possible that the random defense official who was quoted was giving an opinion not based on fact. 

The consequences of this false report were pretty severe. Though I don't think Russia or the United States bought the report, other people did, including Poland and Ukraine. Indeed, Ukraine still appears to claim that Russia did in fact fire a missile at Poland. There were attempts to invoke Article 5 in the NATO treaty, which wouldn't immediately cause World War III, but it would mean we were a lot closer to it than we have ever been before.  

This is just another example of how bad journalism has gotten in terms of reliability. It's a good thing that this reporter was fired, but the fact remains when it comes to many topics the press is not even attempting to be objective or accurate. 

This story never made even a lick of sense. Why would Russia launch a missile at Poland? And if they did, why would they only launch one? Why would they target a farm and not a military installation? And why couldn't it have been an accident by either side in the war? The knee-jerk response that it had to have been Russia did a lot of damage. 

But it's also clear that the international news media has next to zero credibility on Russia. Like Donald Trump, they hate Russia and any objectivity goes out the window. For a good example of how detached from reality they are, they claim both that Russia is losing the war in Ukraine while at the same time saying that Russia is also a huge threat to the rest of Europe. I don't think either of those things are true, but if one is, it stands to reason that the other is not right? 

Regardless, the whole incident just shows how stupid this war is and why it needs to end. All it took was one false report to incite a panic that could have started a world war. Tensions are way too high and it's time to ratchet it down...