Reuters recently retracted 2014 story. But why? The Oct. 14, 2014 article, “Oil producer Afren fires CEO, 3 other executives in scandal,” has been replaced with the following note:
“ADVISORY-The story titled “UPDATE 2-Oil producer Afren fires CEO, 3 other execs in scandal” dated October 14, 2014 is withdrawn, because it did not meet Reuters standards for accuracy. There will be no substitute story.”
Retraction Watch spotted the retraction.
iMediaEthics found a cache of the original article, which reported on the firing of Afren’s CEO, chief operating officer and two associate directors. The article said the company planned to bring legal action against them and had also started “disciplinary action” against seven “current and former employees.” Also detailed were the findings of a law firm’s review of the company.
iMediaEthics has contacted Reuters to ask what went wrong with the story, what the errors were and if anyone from Afren complained over the reporting. A Reuters spokesperson only said, “We were made aware of errors in the story and withdrew it once they were brought to our attention.”
According to a September 2017 press release from the UK Serious Fraud Office that announced charges against the former CEO and COO, Afren is “now in administration.”
Earlier this year, Reuters retracted a May 2017 story after admitting it didn’t ask the subject of the story, Andrew Forrest, about all the allegations against him and acknowledging it “mischaracterized a criticism.” Forrest had sued for defamation.