(Credit: Flickr/Ervins Strauhmanis)
iMediaEthics’ latest roundup of corrections includes the Moulin Rouge and boa constrictors, murder suspects, the Milwaukee Brewers and the World Series, and Brexit support.
1. Moulin Rouge snake handler didn’t die from cabaret snake.
The Times of London reported on the death of a snake handler at the Moulin Rouge. While he died from a boa constrictor bite, it wasn’t a Moulin Rouge snake. The Times of London’s correction reads:
“The Moulin Rouge has asked us to clarify that the boa constrictor which bit a snake handler who later died (World, Sep 24) was the handler’s own property, not one of the cabaret’s performing snakes.”
2. Not a murder suspect?
South Africa’s News 24 posted a doozy of a correction mid-October. The news site had reported that a man was arrested for paying his mistress to murder his wife. But now, News 24 admits the man wasn’t arrested. The odd correction, incorporated into a news story, reads in part:
“The husband of Petro Prinsloo, who was killed in Mozambique last month, has not been arrested for orchestrating her murder.
“News24 on Tuesday published information received from a source at the Mozambique Foreign Business Chamber who claimed that Faan Prinsloo was in custody after allegedly paying his “mistress” R25 000 to arrange the murder in Matola, where the couple lived.
“According to the source, the “mistress” paid a Mozambican man to carry out the murder. The source also said that Faan was working in Santa Maria, and not Matola, at the time of the murder.
“According to the source, Faan had been denied bail and was in police custody in that country. The source said he had confirmed this with three police officials. This information appears to have been incorrect.“News24 spoke to Faan Prinsloo on Tuesday morning. He confirmed that he had not been arrested. Prinsloo is currently in South Africa.”
3. Still no World Series win for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ouch for Brewers’ fans. Despite an Oct. 15 Wall Street Journal article, the Milwaukee Brewers have never won a World Series championship. The correction reads:
“The Milwaukee Brewers won only the American League title in 1982 and have never won the World Series. A Sports article on Monday on Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich incorrectly said the franchise was aiming to win its first championship since 1982, implying it had won the World Series.”
4. Are majority of Scots pro- or anti-Brexit? Express botched research report
The UK Express reported that research found a “majority of Scots back Brexit,” but in fact, the Express misread the research. What went wrong? 58% of Scottish voters said they were “Eurosceptic,” and the Express thought that meant pro-Brexit. Even more, the research actually showed that only 19% of that 58% “Eurosceptic” were pro-Brexit.
In an Oct. 11 correction, the Express wrote:
“On 08 June 2018 we published an article headlined “Majority of Scots Back Brexit as SNP support plummets from voters backing Ruth Davidson’.
“The article was based upon research conducted by National Centre for Social Research in their report “Has Brexit changed Attitudes Towards Scottish Independence?”.
“The report found that in 2017 58 percent of Scottish voters described themselves as “Eurosceptic”.
“Our article reported this as meaning those voters were backing Brexit.
“In fact as the report showed of the 58 per cent just 19 percent believed ‘Britain should leave the EU’, while 38 percent believed “Britain should stay in the EU but reduces its powers”.
“It was therefore incorrect to state that the 58 percent ‘Back Brexit’.
“The original article has been deleted and we are happy to set the record straight. “
