AP fires reporter after false story on Poland explosion: WashPo

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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.