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EXCLUSIVE: Fox News seeks to confirm wildly inaccurate reporting that it's already aired on Jennings controversy; former student seeks Fox News correction

October 02, 2009 3:10 pm ET by Karl Frisch

The following Facebook exchange, obtained exclusively by Media Matters for America, between a FoxNews.com writer Maxim Lott and the student at the center of Fox fueled Jennings controversy can easily be paraphrased as follows:

Now that we've reported your age incorrectly as if it was fact and suggested crimes were committed without a shred of evidence in an effort to smear yet another Obama administration official, we’d like to confirm your age.

For his part, the former student asks Lott for a correction from Fox News stating, "hopefully my birthday should clear up any misunderstandings you and your employers have about my age and I look forward to seeing the correction made."

On September 30, Lott reported as fact – despite significant evidence to the contrary – that the former student was a "15-year-old boy" at the time of the incident in question. On October 1, he finally got around to asking if his report was accurate.

Turns out it wasn't.

So, when will Fox News allocate as much air-time for the correction as they did for the smear?

P.S. Isn't funny how Lott even describes his own reporting as "rumors"?

Previously:

EXCLUSIVE: Statement from former student at center of Fox-fueled Jennings controversy

EXCLUSIVE: Media Matters confirms student at center of Fox fueled Jennings controversy was of legal age

Right-wing caricatures of Jennings undercut by broad support he has received

Conservative media unleash anti-gay rhetoric in attacks on Jennings

Hannity and Fox News defended Hastert during Foley scandal

Despite evidence to contrary, Fox News machine claims Jennings "cover[ed] up statutory rape"

More witch-hunting: Fox News targets "safe schools czar" Kevin Jennings

Tags: Fox News Channel, FoxNews.com, Maxim Lott

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    • Author by shaggles (October 02, 2009 3:26 pm ET)
      7  
      Does FOX ever do corrections?
      Report Abuse
      • Author by John Paradox (October 02, 2009 3:34 pm ET)
        7  
        What is 'correction'? Me never hear that word before.

        -Faux News
        Report Abuse
      • Author by IRONY 101 (October 02, 2009 3:52 pm ET)
        3  
        Hah...corrections are for sissies and weaklings.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by rwmacdonald2091 (October 02, 2009 4:38 pm ET)
        3  
        Hey shaggles, think that one though about Fox Noise doing corrections. If they did corections when would they have time to lie?

        Report Abuse
      • Author by DellDolly (October 05, 2009 2:07 pm ET)
           
        They actually did here. They updated their 9/30 story.

        EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this story was originally published, the former student referred to as "Brewster" has stepped forward to reveal that he was 16 years old, not 15, at the time of the incident described in this report.

        Also they did this story about how the student "Defends Obama's 'Safe Schools' Czar Against Allegations".

        Better than nothing, and much better than previous stories by FoxNews. It's a pretty fair portrayal of the pluses and minuses of the story.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by DellDolly (October 02, 2009 3:27 pm ET)
      4  
      The problem all along was FoxNews ignoring the known facts about the student's age. They never mentioned that there was some info that showed the kid's age was 16. They never tried to verify the info, you know, fact-check, before they ran with the story. They also accused the White House of not vetting their advisors like they should, but it turns out that FoxNews was the group that fell asleep on the job when it comes to fact-checking. That's why it was so hilarious when Lanny Davis tried to scold DailyKos for a simple brain fart and never mentioned all the stories from the right where they've ignored relevant info time after time after time like with this story. There's a huge difference between making a human error, like Markos did, and failing to do the research necessary to source your storyline.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by NiceguyEddie (October 02, 2009 3:32 pm ET)
      4  
      Where's FairLiberal, from over on the other Jennings thread, crying about the weakness of MMFA's proof?

      IS THIS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, FAIR?

      ------------------------------------------------------------------
      Go ahead... You can do it...
      Report Abuse
    • Author by DellDolly (October 02, 2009 3:35 pm ET)
      5  
      From FoxNews reporter Lotts' 9/30 story. This comment is from a spokesman from the Family Research Council.

      "I suspect that the vetting procedure for Jennings was fairly superficial... This controversy about the possible statutory rape was raised in 2004 when he received an award from the NEA. So it's not like it's been a secret. So I think it shows yet another failure of the Obama administration's vetting process."

      How dare he even try to question someone else's vetting of Jennings when he got this issue so wrong?

      Report Abuse
    • Author by SLRTX (October 02, 2009 4:19 pm ET)
      4  
      Jennings should look into suing Fox for libel.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by SLRTX (October 02, 2009 4:22 pm ET)
        2  
        And another thing...

        Do you think Lott had one of those testicle-lifting moments when his boss called him on the carpet after MMFA exposed the lie?
        Report Abuse
    • Author by Truth Crusader (October 02, 2009 4:37 pm ET)
      1  
      Ohhhhhh SNAP!!!
      Report Abuse
    • Author by toombsie (October 02, 2009 5:45 pm ET)
      3  
      Wow typical FoxNews... lets report before we get the facts - lets just make everything we say up and see if it's true later. If it isn't, we won't admit it or apologize. What a sleaze bag organization.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by SMTDL (October 03, 2009 1:21 pm ET)
        1  
        Yes ..just like the Acorn worker that had "murdered" her husband...no vetting done before it was thrown to the public by FOX.They can't be very professional or smart to think somebody that committed murder would confess it to total strangers!!!They were using this kid as a pawn to smear Jennings so why look for mitigating facts!!!I'm sure they never expected to hear from him !!!
        Report Abuse
        • Author by killerstarfish (October 03, 2009 8:11 pm ET)
             
          If it sounds or can be made to sound bad for a Democrat, then have at it with all your might, facts schmacts!

          That's about how Fixed operates these days.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by 24enak (October 02, 2009 9:33 pm ET)
         
      Fox News: Report first, ask questions later.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by Midnight Kevin (October 03, 2009 12:58 am ET)
      2  
      Nobody reads page 10 where corrections lay buried in the puff pieces and lotto numbers... Fox knows this and that is why they spread inaccurate information.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by jimmydeanbakker (October 03, 2009 11:20 am ET)
         
      I would hope that FOX would clear up this error because they made a lot of noise over the Jennings’ issue.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by racetoinfinity (October 03, 2009 4:13 pm ET)
      1  
      First, "promoting" homosexuality is probably the wrong word for Jennings to use/agree with Fox and other right-wing propoganda sources' use. It implies (especially to the more ignorant who don't understand that homosexuality is inborn) that one can lead a young person into homosexualtiy - that it's not a natural, inborn characteristic. "encouraging acceptance of and discouraging prejudice toward" - and especially encouraging those teens who self-identify as gay to seek self-esteem counseling, if they choose to.

      2) Religion/Spirituality is a spectrum of development from the dumbest (fundamentalism) to the highest development (mystical union). Prejudice against homosexuality falls off somewhere in the higher rational level of it, so you can't flatten out religion as one thing. It has levels of maturity and inclusion and evolution, and that includes Christianity.

      Report Abuse
    • Author by aviationrox (October 03, 2009 8:51 pm ET)
         
      For me, Fox News and "correction" is an oxymoron on par with lead balloon.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by KenStarr (October 03, 2009 10:45 pm ET)
         
      YOU MISSED SOMETHING!!!

      Maxim Lott is the son of famed rethuglican liar John Lott, a.k.a., "Mary Rosh". Apple didn't fall from from that tree.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by BrianInSC (October 04, 2009 11:54 am ET)
         
      It's shockingly bad reporting by F*x News. In a statutory rape accusation there's really only one relevant fact isn't there? Primarily, was the kid's age below the one in the statute? All other questions flow from this. If "No" then it's not statutory rape(.)<---period.
      Which of course is why they neglected to check this fact. They got air time to fill, baby!
      Report Abuse
    • Author by OOzinEvil (October 04, 2009 2:22 pm ET)
         
      Wonder if Brewster is going to ask Jennings to publically make the correction in his book, or the statement he made in his 2000 speech? Doubtful, as it will draw more attention to why, if he did think he was speaking to a 15 year old did not elevate the situation.

      Since when is using a representitives own words, spoken and written not considered valid? Karl Frisch
      Now that we've reported your age incorrectly as if it was fact and suggested crimes were committed without a shred of evidence in an effort to smear yet another Obama administration official, we’d like to confirm your age.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by DellDolly (October 05, 2009 2:13 pm ET)
           
        He didn't make anything that needs to be corrected in his book.

        We don't know why he described a sophomore who was 15 in the available audiotape. It could have been that he simply misspoke. It also could be that he was setting the scene and reminding his listeners by simply describing the fact that a typical sophomore starts out the school year as a 15 yr old. This particular student has a summer birthday and apparently was a year behind other students, so he started his sophomore year at age 16, not 15.

        There was plenty of other evidence that the kid was 16, but FoxNews failed to give that info to their viewers and continued to assert as known fact that the kid was 15. It's that flaw that is what the problem is here - that there was significant contradictory evidence that they never exposed their viewers to.
        Report Abuse

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