• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Politics
  4. AP fires reporter after false story on Poland explosion: WashPo
Politics

AP fires reporter after false story on Poland explosion: WashPo

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Washington Post
  • 22 Nov 2022 23:07
  • 1 Shares

The Associated Press fires a reporter after he reported false information about the explosion in Poland, which caused a lot of panic worldwide.

  • The site where the Ukrainian missile landed in Przewodów, Poland (AP Photo)
    The site where the Ukrainian missile landed in Przewodów, Poland (AP Photo)

The Associated Press fired Monday a national security reporter who reported false news about a missile landing in Poland last Tuesday, leading to the circulation of an erroneous news alert that claimed Russia was the assailant behind the explosion in eastern Poland.

AP's 35-year-old James LaPorta's termination came after a brief investigation that determined he was at fault, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

The missile that exploded in Poland sparked a dispute last Wednesday between Ukraine and its western allies, with Nato, Warsaw, and the US saying that Kiev's air defense forces were likely responsible.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed this, saying he had "no doubt" the missile that landed near the Ukrainian border in the village of Przewodów, killing two people, was not a Ukrainian missile.

Due to uncertainty - at the time - regarding the party that fired the missile, Poland suggested invoking NATO's Article 4, which means that the alliance's members "consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened."

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Poland's statements about "Russian missiles" were a deliberate provocation to try and escalate the situation.

They added that "the fragments published in hot pursuit by the Polish media from the scene in the village of Przewodow have nothing to do with Russian weapons."

The information obtained by the reporter was incorrect, with officials in Poland and the European Union saying their intelligence indicates that a single missile fired by the Ukrainian armed forces went off course before hitting Polish soil.

The initial AP alert said there was a new paramount escalation within the Ukraine war due to Poland being a NATO member, and an attack on Warsaw's territory would lead to a military response under the organization's self-defense provisions.

The AP corrected the alert sent to thousands of new outlets all over the world, saying its anonymous source was "wrong" and that "subsequent reporting showed that the missiles were Russian-made and most likely fired by Ukraine in defense against a Russian attack."

The Associated Press declined to pinpoint the fired reporter as the source of the alert, with AP spokesperson Lauren Easton saying: "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. We do not make these decisions lightly, nor are they based on isolated incidents," she added.

Internal confusion ensued within the news organization at the time that the erroneous alert was sent out, with LaPorta sharing a tip from US officials in an electronic message, leading an editor to ask if the AP should send out an alert based on the tip or "would we need confirmation from another source and/or Poland."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that "Russian missiles hit Poland" about an hour after the news of the incident first broke. He described it as "a very significant escalation" that necessitated a response.

In response to Zelensky's denial that Ukrainian missiles were fired toward Poland, US President Joe Biden said, "That is not the evidence," according to a statement released by the White House press pool.

One day following reports about the missiles that fell in the Polish village of Przewodów, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the explosion that hit Poland was "likely caused" by a Ukrainian air defense missile.

Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry said no strikes were carried out by Russian means near the Ukrainian-Polish border.

  • United States
  • Poland
  • Nato
  • Russia
  • Associated Press
  • Washington Post
  • Ukraine
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Trending Now

All
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleskii Reznikov, US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Warsaw, Poland, March 26, 2022

Biden meets Ukrainian FM, Defense Minister in Warsaw

Most Read

London posts job ad for mercenaries for Ukraine counteroffensive

London posts job ad for mercenaries for Ukraine's counteroffensive

  • Africa
  • 24 May
The Middle East Stabilises, Against the Backdrop of a Great Unravelling

The Middle East Stabilises, Against the Backdrop of a Great Unravelling

  • Analysis
  • 28 May
The domestically produced C919 passenger jet flies at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, Peoeple's Republic of China, 8 November 2022. (Reuters)

China is set to launch first commercial flight on its C919 plane

  • Asia
  • 26 May
Kissinger bears considerable culpability for assaults in Cambodia that killed as many as 150,000 civilians

Kissinger's secret war in Cambodia reveals mass killings: Intercept

  • Asia
  • 24 May

Read this

All
In this image released by the Italian firefighters, a helicopter searches for missing passengers after a tourist boat capsized in a storm on Italy's Lago Maggiore in the northern Lombardy region, May 28, 2023 (AP)
Europe

Top Israeli intelligence official dead in Italy: Israeli media

  • 29 May
The Global Campaign to the Return to Palestine honours several "Return Ambassadors" in Beirut, Lebanon, May 29 2023. (@return_ar/Twitter)
Palestine

GCRP honors 'Return Ambassadors' to Palestine in Beirut

  • Today
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin attend a weekly cabinet meeting in the prime minister's office in occupied Al-Quds, occupied Palestine, May 28, 2023 (AP)
Palestine

Let AI replace Netanyahu's government, opposition's Lapid says

  • 29 May
In this picture released by the Iranian Defense Ministry on Thursday, May 25, 2023, Khorramshahr-4 missile is launched at an undisclosed location, Iran (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP)
MENA

Iran set to unveil its first ever hypersonic missile

  • 29 May
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS