‘DO NOT PUB’ Trends on Twitter After ABC Includes Pre-Write Notes in Story on Death of Ivana Trump
Mario Tama/Getty Images
An error from ABC News trended on Twitter Thursday after the network included pre-write notes in its reporting on the passing of Ivana Trump.
Ivana, the first wife of former President Donald Trump, passed away Thursday afternoon in New York City. ABC was quick to publish the story, but with a headline that confused readers.
“DO NOT PUB Ivana Trump, ex-wife of former President Trump, dies at age 73,” the headline read.
The story was quickly edited on ABC’s website, but remained on Google for nearly half an hour after the network published the story.
The words “DO NOT PUB” trended on Twitter as people outside of the news media business wondered what they meant.
A number of reporters explained outlets often pre-write obituaries for notable people who are older, or who are struggling with illness.
Oof, someone forgot to remove “DO NOT PUB” note on the Ivana Trump obit ABC News published. For those unaware, publications oftentimes have prewritten obits ready for notable people to where they can add in the date and any new info when the person actually dies. pic.twitter.com/yyZE0DXi97
— Kurt Steiss ⚔️ (@kurtsteiss) July 14, 2022
lol the conspiracy theories brewing over ABC’s “DO NOT PUB” Ivana Trump headline
(Keep this between us but… news publications pre-write obituaries / breaking news stubs for deaths)
— Hayley Miller (@hayleymiller01) July 14, 2022
Me, just trying to find out how old Ivana Trump was, and seeing a giant DO NOT PUB in a headline (which naturally made me want to read the article even more). pic.twitter.com/EOqQBYyoYL
— Meghin Moore ✨ (@meghin_) July 14, 2022
Uhmmm @ABC forgot to remove “DO NOT PUB” on their Ivana Trump headline pic.twitter.com/Sc0RqLQ1gS
— Kris Pangilinan (@KrisReports) July 14, 2022
when they introduced that SLIDE TO PUBLISH in the CMS instead of the button, I have never felt such relief
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) July 14, 2022
—
