At least two UK news outlets reported on a staged video as if it were real. The video showed car drivers intentionally splashing a policeman on the road.
The Express‘s story, “Footage shows road rage motorists splashing policeman after UK storm – can you be fined?” was published Feb. 17. It noted that “other motorists questioned the reliability of the video with some quick to brand the video a fake.” iMediaEthics has written to the Express to ask if it intends to correct.
The Sun‘s article link now goes to an error page and it has published a correction admitting the mistake. The Sun’s March 10 correction reads:
“An article headlined “WATER YOU DOING? Police officer gets completely drenched by giggling lads driving through massive puddle” reported on a video of a car soaking a police officer by driving through a puddle.
“It has since been brought to our attention that the video was staged and did not depict a genuine incident. We are happy to make this clear”
iMediaEthics has written to the Sun.