Wall Street Journal Adds Editor’s Note Directly Refuting Paper’s Lead Editorial on Abortion Story
The Wall Street Journal added an editor’s note to the top of the paper’s lead editorial Wednesday refuting the premise of its own article, which was debunked by current events just hours after it was published.
The editorial titled “An Abortion Story Too Good to Confirm” ripped President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for publicly discussing the absolutely tragic story of a 10-year-old girl who was raped and forced to travel across state lines to get an abortion. The “tale,” as the Journal referred to the news story, was roundly dismissed in right-wing circles from members of Congress to the governor of South Dakota to Fox News.
However, soon after the editorial was published, the story was confirmed as the arrest of the girl’s rapist and his confession was made public by local media. The Journal added the editor’s note, but did not retract the article which no longer had any basis in fact.
The editor’s note read:
The Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday, a day after this editorial was published, that a Columbus, Ohio, man has been charged with the rape of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who traveled to Indiana for an abortion. The Dispatch reports that Columbus police were made aware of the pregnancy through a referral to local child services by the girl’s mother on June 22, though no public confirmation of the referral or arrest was reported until the Dispatch story on July 13.
New York Times’s Jane Coaston noted on Twitter that the note does not go far enough. Coaston commented, “If the lede of your op-ed is contradicted by the editors note to the op-ed than perhaps the problem is more pronounced.”
She offered a history-themed joke to illustrate her point:
Op-Ed: “Hitler will never invade Poland”
Editors note: “it appears that Nazi Germany has in fact invaded Poland”
Op-Ed: “Hitler will never invade Poland”
Editors note: “it appears that Nazi Germany has in fact invaded Poland”
— Jane Coaston (@janecoaston) July 13, 2022
Others reacted on Twitter with similar vitriol:
All told, I counted 12 sentences that cast doubt on the story — they all stand, uncorrected, alongside an “editor’s note” that guts them all. If ever the WSJ editorial board had some editing to do. 3/
— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) July 13, 2022
The headline of this morning’s @WSJopinion editorial, “An Abortion Story Too Good to Confirm,” is grotesque.
They should update it to “We apologize.” https://t.co/5tuuMem7Lo
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) July 13, 2022
One problem Democrats face is the massive right-wing propaganda machine operating against them, including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
Note also the inadvertent admission from WaPo’s “fact checker”: nothing is a fact unless law enforcement says so. https://t.co/JCaYcjFEre pic.twitter.com/O6XL32dWlm
— Max Kennerly (@MaxKennerly) July 13, 2022
If you’re a journalist who works for the Wall Street Journal, how do you feel about your paper muddying the waters in the rape of a 10 year old? Does that make you feel good about your work place? Do you think it reflects well on you? https://t.co/S5tHne4Nai
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) July 13, 2022
