Joe Biden in 2013 (Credit: Wikipedia)

Is Joe Biden running for president? The Washington Post accidentally published a story saying he is, even though at the time no decision had been announced.

The Post‘s article now leads to an editor’s note reading: “This file was inadvertently published.”

The article was a pre-prepared article in case Biden does decide to run. It contained dummy text for a writer to insert the details behind the still-unmade decision.

Washington Post spokesperson Kris Coratti told iMediaEthics by e-mail: “Earlier tonight, a technical glitch occurred when video was being embedded into a story prepared in case of an announcement from Vice President Biden, inadvertently causing it to be published. The story was immediately pulled back down, and The Post regrets the error.”

Paul Kane, who is credited on the Post byline for the deleted story, tweeted about the accidental publication, saying it was because of a technical glitch.

Earlier tonight, a technical glitch caused publication of a just-in-case/when-we-kno story of VP running for president. (1/2) …

— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) October 20, 2015

It happened when editors were embedding video file. It carries my byline. I regret that it was published accidentally. Deep apologies. (2/2)

— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) October 20, 2015

Kane also noted that he has a pre-written story ready in case Biden decides against running for president.

Finally, to be clear, we don't know if it's a yes or a no. Full disclosure: I have a he-says-no-story also written. 3/3

— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) October 20, 2015

Below see a screenshot from Google search for the now-scrubbed article, which was titled “Biden to launch a presidential campaign.” The story was posted just before 8 PM EST, the timestamp on Google indicates.

BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski posted a screenshot of the article, which said in part: “Vice President Biden plans to enter the contest for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, ending months of speculation about his intentions and delivering a jolt to an already unpredictable contest, according to XXX sources familiar with his decision.

pic.twitter.com/BU6X890Njm HAHA "according to xx sources" is the best part.

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) October 20, 2015

If you plug the last lines into Google you can read the entire WaPo Biden story (not cached) https://t.co/CZ3B7d5tva pic.twitter.com/SsqicR59tx

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) October 20, 2015

The story was published by “mistake,” CNN’s Brian Stelter tweeted.

WashPost's "Biden is running" story was published by mistake. It's been replaced by a "whoops" page pic.twitter.com/ZF1tZb3ls4

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 20, 2015

Like much of the media and public, the Post has paid close attention to whether Biden may run. Six days ago, the Washington Post published an article headlined “Joe Biden isn’t running for president.”

This morning, the Washington Post published an article, “We are now on our 12th timeline for a Biden announcement.”