Opinion by Erik Wemple: NBC News attempted to protect the identity of an alleged child laborer featured in a recent story. Turns out the report was wrong.
PSSI says it has a “long-standing zero-tolerance policy against employing anyone under the age of 18 and we don’t want a single minor working for our company — period.” New hires, it says, are checked against the government’s E-Verify system, and “the only way our procedures could be circumvented is through deliberate identity theft or fraud at the local level,” reads a statement.U.S. media outlets too rarely follow their mistakes with retractions and corrections.
Which brings us to NBC’s efforts to protect the employee’s identity. PSSI says it was able “to narrow our search for the individual they interviewed based on a review of NBC News footage from the segment.” The company’s statement doesn’t specify what clues were useful, and the piece carefully blurs the worker’s face; uses partial body shots; and, according to an NBC News source, disguises his voice during the interview.
PSSI says that NBC News “recklessly” broadcast a false story. That’s quite an exaggeration: To corroborate Pedro’s claim that he was a minor, NBC News relied on the man’s word; the fact that he presented as a minor at the border and received government documentation is consistent with that claim,; and NBC News confirmed that Pedro attended a local high school at the time of the story, according to a network source.
Those steps weren’t enough, as the retraction discloses. But the network’s efforts weren’t reckless. Journalism is hard work.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NBC disinformation reporter is actually a partisan opinion writerBen Collins has made a name for himself around the media cool kids table as NBC News’s disinformation reporter. Except that Collins is actually an opinion writer.
Read more »
NBC News Retracts Story on Underage Slaughterhouse WorkersNBC News has retracted a story after it was revealed that one of the network’s main sources—a young immigrant named Pedro who worked on a Kansas slaughterhouse floor and claimed to be 16—was actually much older.
Read more »
Senate Armed Services Subcommittee Holds Hearing on UFO ReportsThe Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities held a hearing Wednesday addressing reports of unidentified flying objects. See potential bias and similarities in coverage from FoxNews, ABC, and NewsNation:
Read more »
Florida Expands Limitations on Gender and Sexuality Lessons to All Grade-LevelsThe Florida Board of Education voted to expand limitations on lessons surrounding gender identity and sexual orientation to all grade levels. See potential bias and similarities in coverage from FoxNews, Forbes, and CNN:
Read more »
Migrant worker in NBC News interview is older than previously reportedPedro, who cleaned slaughterhouse floors, told NBC News and the U.S. government that he was 16 — making his employment there illegal under federal labor laws. NBC News and Noticias Telemundo have since traveled to Guatemala and obtained official documentation showing he is 21.
Read more »
Fox News settlement turns Dominion into a private equity blockbusterFox News' $787.5 million settlement turns Dominion into a private equity blockbuster
Read more »