A Nebraska TV news station fell for an apparent scam phone call claiming local postal services would be suspended because of coronavirus.
In an April 4 mark , NBC-affiliate KSNB explained its station received a phone message “from an official source” saying Kimball postal services would be suspended for “the safety of our employees.” The station’s reporter then tried contacting sources for comment about the decision but didn’t hear back from anyone, the retraction explained. However, the next day, the Kimball Post Office told the station it was still open.
“As journalists it is our top priority to provide news updates across the panhandle. We do apologize for any misinformation that was released regarding the Kimball Post Office. We will be looking into false call,” the station’s retraction reads. “We did have a segment in our show regarding scam and robocalls, sadly, even reporters fall for them at times.”
iMediaEthics has written to the affiliate.