On March 17, USA Today reported on social distancing and window visits during the coronavirus pandemic. But now, the USA Today article has been scrubbed to remove paragraphs related to a woman in a nursing home, her son’s desire to see her, and a relative’s comments about the son.
The USA Today article now carries an editor’s note that reads, “Editor’s note: A previous version of this story included reporting that has since been removed because of privacy concerns.”
iMediaEthics has written to USA Today to ask what went wrong. The original article, viewed through a cache, identified a man and said he had a mental disability. iMediaEthics considers the inclusion of that information irrelevant to a story about visiting his mother. iMediaEthics is not naming the family involved, to protect their privacy, but has attempted to reach them for their side of the story.