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Mirror & Mail Delete Dylann Roof Cousin Interview that The Intercept Retracted

Today, The Intercept retracted a story saying accused Charleston, South Carolina shooter Dylann Roof liked girl who started dating a black man, as iMediaEthics wrote.

The Intercept’s June 2015 story was based on an interview with Roof’s cousin Scott Roof. Problem is, Roof’s family says Roof doesn’t have a cousin named Scott, so The Intercept retracted its story, written by Juan Thompson.

iMediaEthics checked to see how far the claims about Roof and the alleged Scott Roof interview spread. We found at least seven sites reported on the alleged Scott Roof interview. The Intercept said it would contact news outlets who picked up fabrications from its now-fired reporter Juan Thompson.

Two news outlets, the Mirror and Mail, have apparently deleted their stories based on The Intercept claims as of 9 PM EST on Feb. 2. By Feb. 3 mid-day, Alternet and Radar Online’s stories were gone.

The New York Daily News was the quickest to respond to The Intercept retraction, iMediaEthics notes. It has tacked on its own editor’s note about The Intercept retraction, which reads:

Editor’s Note: This story was retracted by The Intercept on Feb. 2, 2016 after they spoke to two family members who said they were not aware of the relative, Scott Roof.”

NY Magazine posted a correction:

“Correction: A previous version of this story noted that a man claiming to be Roof’s cousin said that he “kind of went over the edge when a girl he liked starting dating a black guy two years back.” The Intercept hasretracted that story, which reflected a “pattern of misattributed quotes” in stories written by former staff reporter Juan Thompson.”

The Independent added this note:

Editor’s note: This story previously cited false reporting from The Intercept. The piece has since been retracted.”

Below, see outlets that covered the Roof claims.

The Intercept’s retraction read:

“After speaking with two members of Dylann Roof’s family, The Intercept can no longer stand by the premise of this story. Both individuals said that they do not know of a cousin named Scott Roof.

“The problems with this story reflect a pattern of misattributed quotes that The Intercept uncovered in stories written by Juan Thompson, a former staff reporter. We apologize to our readers.”

UPDATE: 2/2/2016 9:01 PM EST It appears the Mirror and Mail have unpublished their stories as links to their articles now go to error pages.

UPDATE: 2/3/ 2016 2:13 PM EST Alternet and Radar Online’s stories also apparently have been deleted. Added this and the correction from NY Mag.