If you were tuned in to either NBC or MSNBC last night, Jan. 7, as your source for learning what was unfolding in France, then you no doubt were shocked when the network actually was reporting completely inaccurate information for at least an hour. While there has been major police activity in Paris and various parts of France, NBC claimed there had been a shootout about 90 minutes north of the City of Lights that killed one suspect in the terrorist attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo. Supposedly, the other two gunmen were in custody, tying up the manhunt with a nice, neat bow. Unfortunately, none of it was true.
French police did capture the youngest suspect, 18-year old Hamyd Mourad, but even as of now, Said and Cherif Kouachi remain on the run. Once NBC realized its huge mistake, its representatives issued retractions of their earlier reporting.
The network told Deadline, "NBC News issued an earlier report based on intelligence from two consistently reliable U.S. counterterrorism officials in different government agencies. As soon as it became evident that our sources doubted their information, we immediately updated our reporting across all platforms and continue to do so as this fast-moving story unfolds."
At the time, NBC was saying that a senior security official was the source of their information. Even though the network acknowledged their misinformation as soon as they were made aware of it, it never actually apologized for its part in passing on misleading information in something as serious as a manhunt following a terrorist attack.
Does this faux pas make you reconsider relying on NBC News's reporting, at least for the time being? What is your take on the Paris massacre? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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