# Fox reports GOP press release verbatim, w/o acknowledgment, & including typo **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 17, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198 "2009-02-17T00:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/1 "2009-02-17T00:30:47Z")
[Story here.](http://mediamatters.org/items/200902100019?f=h_latest) :dubious: Geez, guys, you used to at least **pretend** you were journalists! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/2 "2009-02-17T00:51:45Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Story here.](http://mediamatters.org/items/200902100019?f=h_latest) > > :dubious: Geez, guys, you used to at least **pretend** you were journalists! I read the piece three times and failed to find the typo, but then I’m a pretty bad proofreader. Can someone help me out here? Meanwhile, I’m sure FOX regrets their error in not attributing the press release that apparently was their primary source, just as I sure they regret the several times they have misattributed Republican legislators as Democrats when they have been caught in, er, compromising circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Lungfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@Lungfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lungfish)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/3 "2009-02-17T00:54:39Z")
So Fox News is the propaganda arm of the Republican Party. Who would have thunk it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/4 "2009-02-17T00:55:39Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Meanwhile, I’m sure FOX regrets their error in not attributing the press release that apparently was their primary source, just as I sure they regret the several times they have misattributed Republican legislators as Democrats when they have been caught in, er, compromising circumstances. I’m sure they regret getting caught, at least. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/5 "2009-02-17T00:56:54Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I read the piece three times and failed to find the typo, but then I’m a pretty bad proofreader. Can someone help me out here? They attribute the figures to a WSJ article dated December 200 **9**. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/6 "2009-02-17T01:00:03Z")
Oh, but it got better, because Fox did apologize. [For the typo.](http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200902110016) > [@](#): > > Yesterday on Happening Now we showed you how the stimulus bill has grown over time. Our story prompted by a news release from the Senate Republican Communication Center. There point that a $56 billion proposal in September has grown to $838 billion in five months. In compiling the story, our producers and researchers did what we always do – we verified the accuracy of the material. But in double checking the newspaper quotes referenced in that news release we made the same mistake they did. We labeled a Wall Street Journal article as having run in 2009 when in fact it was 2008. That was our error, and we apologize. Shorter: Next time we uncritically pass along unattributed GOP talking points, we’ll proofread them first. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/7 "2009-02-17T01:13:25Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [Story here.](http://mediamatters.org/items/200902100019?f=h_latest) > > :dubious: Geez, guys, you used to at least **pretend** you were journalists! Next time, please give us at least a short summary. Not everyone wants to click on a link. It’s also helpful to point out the typo. This isn’t a Warning, but it is a strongly worded suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/8 "2009-02-17T01:23:28Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > Oh, but it got better, because Fox did apologize. > > [For the typo.](http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200902110016) > > Shorter: Next time we uncritically pass along unattributed GOP talking points, we’ll proofread them first. Or even shorter: RePravdacans: “Da!” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/9 "2009-02-17T01:49:00Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Next time, please give us at least a short summary. Not everyone wants to click on a link. Which part of the thread title did not accurately summarize the information in the link? ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/10 "2009-02-17T01:53:43Z")
I just asked the same question, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=506938), as I thought it was verboten to question a Mod action in the actual thread where said Mod action occurred now? I’ve been here over 9 years, and for the first time ever, I’m completely perplexed by what’s allowed and what’s not allowed anymore. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/11 "2009-02-17T02:16:13Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Next time, please give us at least a short summary. Not everyone wants to click on a link. It’s also helpful to point out the typo. > > This isn’t a Warning, but it is a strongly worded suggestion. 😕 If you don’t want to click on the link, maybe don’t request that the OP do all the work for you. There’s not a hell of a lot more he could have said that would’ve made it simpler. ETA: Sorry, just saw **Shayna** ’s thread link. I’ll repost over there. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/12 "2009-02-17T02:22:10Z")
The story in the link points out the typo in the first paragraph, after the summary. > [@](#): > > One on-screen graphic during the segment even repeated a typo from the GOP document, further confirming that Scott was simply reading from a Republican press release. The Fox News graphic and the GOP press release both claimed that a Wall Street Journal report that the stimulus package could reach “$775 billion over two years” was published on December 19, **2009** [emphasis added [in original article]]. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/13 "2009-02-17T02:30:19Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > The story in the link points out the typo in the first paragraph, after the summary. Well, I said I was a bad proofreader. And reader full stop, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/14 "2009-02-17T02:33:05Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > ETA: Sorry, just saw **Shayna** ’s thread link. I’ll repost over there. Don’t mind me. I seriously have no fucking clue what’s going on here anymore; what’s a threat, what’s warnable, where we’re supposed to post stuff. Truly, it’s perplexing. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/15 "2009-02-17T03:17:42Z")
What’s worse, the Fox “journalist” mentioned, when introducing the piece, that he had looked into the situation, implying quite strongly that it was the actual work of Fox “News”. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/16 "2009-02-17T03:35:57Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Don’t mind me. I seriously have no fucking clue what’s going on here anymore; what’s a threat, what’s warnable, where we’re supposed to post stuff. Truly, it’s perplexing. I always kind of felt that the Mods never knew, either. It was all by fiat with post-hoc half-assed justifications coming later when they were questioned. I think now they’re just not even bothering to pretend that there are actual rules and policies. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/17 "2009-02-17T04:22:41Z")
Without some sort of . . . what’s the word I’m searching for . . . rant . . . the thread doesn’t belong in the Pit. With no more than a link and a sentence, it’s what I’d call a “Rant which is genuine but simply too tepid or mundane for the Pit” and is of the sort which “will be moved or closed, as we see fit.” [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=365973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=365973) The OP does explain what the rant is about in the title, but when I opened it I expected a bit more content. I’m going to move this thread to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share for now. I don’t see any discussion that’s too hot for that forum right now. I’m new here, so if I got it wrong, I bet the MPSIMS moderators will be good enough to let me know. **Gfactor** Moderator ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/18 "2009-02-17T05:03:11Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Next time, please give us at least a short summary. I’m guessing that Fox reported a GOP press release verbatim, w/o acknowledgment, and including a typo. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/19 "2009-02-17T05:08:57Z")
Shouldn’t that be _attribution_, rather than “acknowledgment?” ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198/20 "2009-02-17T05:13:01Z")
More details, please! How else am I supposed to know what’s going on in this thread? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fox-reports-gop-press-release-verbatim-w-o-acknowledgment-including-typo/486198.md?page=2)