A fake New York Post apology was inserted into newspapers as criticism of the paper’s erroneous coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing builds.
The fake apology was created by the website Animal New York, which decided to issue a mea cupla on behalf of the New York Post and editor Col Allan, who has stood by the paper’s coverage. The Post was one of the leading outlets in putting out unverified and flatly false information , including that 12 people were killed in Monday’s blast and that authorities quickly took a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian national as a suspect. Both were untrue.
Despite mounting criticism, Allan seemed to defend the paper for its Boston bombing coverage, especially a cover that featured two “suspects” who turned out to have nothing to do with the bombing.
“We stand by our story ,” Allan said in a statement to The Huffington Post . “The image was emailed to law enforcement agencies yesterday afternoon seeking information about these men, as our story reported. We did not identify them as suspects.”
Because Allan refused to apologize, Animal New York decided to do it for him. The website crafted the apology it believed Allan should have written.
“It is with great regret that I reflect upon the nature of the New York Post ‘s reporting and editorial decisions in the days following the Boston Marathon bombing,” the letter read. “For the past four days, the New York Post has consistently published accounts of the tragic incident and subsequent investigation that were at best ill-informed and speculative, and at worst intentionally misleading and harmful to the lives of those involved.”
It added, “This week, the New York Post has acted recklessly and with flagrant disregard for the principles of good journalism.”
The fake New York Post apology was slipped into copies of Friday’s paper and handed out to people on the street.