errors

How The Daily Beast Misidentified One of the San Bernardino Shooting Suspects

J.K. Trotter · 12/04/15 02:45PM

On Wednesday night, The Daily Beast reported that a man named Syed Farook had been identified by police as a suspect in the mass shooting at a party among health department employees at Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. The article’s authors, Oliver Jones and Katie Zavadski, included a photo of Farook taken from Facebook, described him as a “business tax representative” for the California government, and linked to property records showing he had purchased a home in Corona. In fact, as the article’s 1:41 a.m. correction indicates, the photo, description, and property records were not those of the actual suspect, whose full name is Syed Rizwan Farook. They were of his brother, Syed Raheel Farook.

The New York Post Still Can't Tell Black People Apart

Dayna Evans · 12/29/14 04:26PM

In the ongoing saga that is the New York Post's egregious faceblindness, another instance of mistaken identity slipped into the paper today when the death of Staten Island man Eric Garner was rewritten with US Attorney General Eric Holder in his stead. For the full (and corrected online) article, "It's the lawlessness," you can click here.

Once Again, the New York Post Cannot Tell Black People Apart

Rich Juzwiak · 02/05/14 11:17AM

Today, the New York Post ran a short item about Ashanti's Twitter stalker. As ridiculous as that sentence is, it's not the most ridiculous aspect of the piece. No, it's that in the headline, Ashanti was misidentified as "RiRi," which is Rihanna's nickname. Apparently, the New York Post thinks all black male R&B singers are rappers, and all black female R&B singers are Rihanna.

The AP Is Acting Panicky and Bizarre

Hamilton Nolan · 10/23/13 08:58AM

Two weeks ago, the AP published a news story alleging serious misconduct by a Virginia gubernatorial candidate. The story was wrong; the AP pulled it after less than two hours. The AP has now fired three journalists as a result. This is insane.

A Sloppy Excel Error Might Have Messed Up the Way We Think About GDP

Maggie Lange · 04/16/13 01:46PM

A new study reveals that one of the most cited economic principles regarding GDP and debt is most likely based on a "sloppy Excel coding error." According to a 2009 book by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, This Time It's Different, countries with a high debt to GDP ratio have slow economic growth. But three economists at the University of Massachusetts have published a critique of Reinhart and Rogoff entitled: "Does High Public Debt Consistently Stifle Economic Growth?" They found a major and embarrassing error in the original calculations.

Dispatch From the Future: Katie Holmes Goes to Tom Cruise's Birthday Party Today

Hamilton Nolan · 07/03/12 12:20PM

From the current (July 16) issue of OK! Magazine: "We often see Katie Holmes carrying around 6 year-old daughter Suri— dollies, blankets, and all. But on June 25, the little princess gave mom's back a break as they sprinted through the streets of NYC. With husband Tom Cruise shooting Oblivion in Iceland, the dressed-down Katie enjoyed some just-us-girls time with Suri, stopping by Chelsea Piers, Whole Foods and Jacque Torres Chocolate. They also saw the film Brave in the East Village. The pair rejoined Tom for his 50th birthday on July 3."

I Can't Stop Looking At This Weird Scottish Internet Nightmare Video

Ryan Tate · 02/02/12 05:07PM

Scottish post-electo crew Errors threw together this very normal and comforting video about, like, how we're all being subsumed into a hypermedia e-dystopia that is once absurd and soul crushing, or something. It's weird that I'm not "getting" the subtext because this is such a straightforward and obvious-feeling video. As Creators Projects writes, this is "a parallel universe that seems to resemble Giorgio de Chirico paintings... [with] a bit of the Pet Shop Boys about it, a pixel or two of Net Art and a WTF aesthetic that will have a Marmite effect on you." Um, exactly? Also, it feels like something I should have downloaded at 9600 baud.

Don't Believe Everything Nick Nolte Tells You About His GHB Binges

John Cook · 12/14/11 03:16PM

In a new GQ profile, Nick Nolte upended one of the great tales of the internet age, revealing that his famous wacked-out mug shot—taken after he passed out while driving on the Pacific Coast Highway—was not actually a mug shot, but a Polaroid he willingly posed for after a cop asked for a picture. Is it true? As true as any recollection Nick Nolte has about his drug-induced catatonic episodes. Which is to say no, it's not true.

D.C.'s Free Newspaper Has a Dirty, Unfortunate Headline

Brian Moylan · 12/02/11 02:15PM

Imagine waking up in D.C. this morning and having to muddle your way to the Metro (it's what they call the subway) and go to your government job. Yeah, that totally sucks. Then when you get to the subway you grab a free copy of The Examiner, the Capitol's free commuter newspaper, and it has this headline. Your day just got a little awesomer!

NewsBeast Retracts False Quote of Pelosi Slamming Obama Advisers

Jim Newell · 10/03/11 04:14PM

Some tough words from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) about President Obama and his team's communications strategy was raising eyebrows in Washington Monday morning, but that was before Pelosi disavowed the quote and Newsweek's Daily Beast admitted a mistake and retracted it.

Victim's Name Misspelled on 9/11 Memorial

Brian Moylan · 09/13/11 05:15PM

The family of Jeffrey Schreier was a little miffed when they visited the newly-opened 9/11 memorial this weekend and discovered that his first name was spelled "Jeffery." And this man died in a terrorist attack. No respect!