The New York Times wrongly quoted from a Twitter account it thought was associated with al-Shabab on its report on a U.S. missile strike in Somalia.
The Times‘ Oct. 28 article, “Pentagon Says Shabab Bomb Specialist Is Killed in Missile Strike in Somalia” reported:
“But a Twitter account associatd with the group said the attack had killed “innocent and unarmed civilians,” not Shabab fighters. They characterized it as a drone attack, which American officials did not dispute.”
Somali journalist Mukhtar Ibrahim pointed out the error on Twitter, posting a screenshot of the original article. “The NYT keeps quoting a fake al-Shabaab Twitter account,” Ibrahim tweeted.
The Oct. 31 correction, posted at the bottom of the article and on the Times’ corrections page, reads:
“An article on Tuesday about an American missile strike in Somalia against a top operative of the militant group Shabab misidentified the source of a Twitter posting that said “innocent and unarmed civilians,” not Shabab fighters, had been killed in the attack. The message was posted by a Twitter account not associated with Shabab, not by one associated with the group.”