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Sharyl Attkisson

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Attkisson lists false claims made by Jeremy Peters in New York Times article

Dated: March 20, 2020 by Sharyl Attkisson 18 Comments

      

  • New York Times and Peters publish multiple false statements
  • At least two subjects have demanded retractions, corrections
  • Peters changes Attkisson quote to suit a false narrative
  • Peters objects to reporting of factually correct, complete list of U.S. coronavirus deaths

UPDATE: March 20, 2020: See legal letter sent to NYT.

UPDATE March 19, 2020: The New York Times finds its article needs no correcting. See graphics below that explain.

But...

You know something is up... when reporting something a simple list of all coronavirus deaths in the U.S. get you on the hit list for a New York Times piece.

A defamatory and reckless article by Jeremy Peters of the New York Times falsely claims my reporting minimized coronavirus.

At least one other subject of the article-- Rob Schneider-- has also pointed out defamation and fact errors made by Peters. Through an attorney, Schneider has also demanded a retraction and threatened to sue The Times if they do not correct the mistakes.

Clearly, some people in high places are uncomfortable with basic facts about coronavirus being reported, and logical questions being asked --unless they are on the prescribed narratives. The problem is when The New York Times, Peters, or anyone else publishes slanted and false information to make their point.

This sort of smear has typically indicated my reporting is onto something important, although I do not always know exactly what when these efforts begin.

My demand for a retraction is printed below.

Meantime, The Times fired its ombudsman several years ago, saying that social media could act as an effective watchdog for its mistakes. Feel free to be part of the social media effort to hold The Times accountable. You can Tweet them at: @nytimes @jwpetersNYT. Make sure they correct their article. Tell them how you feel (civilly).

Demand for correction, retraction and apology

March 18, 2020

Dear Corrections Department and Legal Department:

This is to demand an immediate retraction, correction and apology regarding multiple false and reckless statements made about me, and a misquote from my work, in the Jeremy Peters article on this date entitled, โ€œFrom Jerry Falwell Jr. to Dr. Drew: 5 Coronavirus Doubters While public health experts warn people to take precautions, these popular media figures insist that the virus is overhyped.โ€

This article, widely read by an international audience, portrays my reporting in a false light. Not only are numerous facts provably false on their face, Peters also did not reach out to me prior to going to print with these damaging claims and implications.

Further, I first notified Peters and The Times of the issues and requested a retraction in a series of tweets beginning at approximately 5:40pm E.T. but the article has remained on the NYT website, uncorrected, since that time.

False Statement #1: โ€œWhile public health experts warn people to take precautions, these popular media figures insist that the virus is overhyped.โ€

Ms. Attkisson has not โ€œinsisted that the virus is overhyped.โ€ The record, easily accessible to Peters, proves the opposite. For example, prior to publication of the false Peters article, a published article written by Ms. Attkisson was widely available for review. It does the opposite of what Peters claimed.

  • Ms. Attkisson raised the question as to whether declining fatality rates really indicate coronavirus is becoming less deadly, or whether it is a difference in calculation methods, writing: โ€œIs coronavirus really becoming less deadly? Or is our math getting better?โ€
  • Ms. Attkisson factually provided the totals of coronavirus incidences in the U.S. and worldwide. She wrote: โ€œIn the U.S., there have been more than 6,500 confirmed cases and over 100 deaths, mostly among the sick elderly. Worldwide there has been more than 200,000 confirmed cases.โ€
  • Ms. Attkisson raised the idea that there are dangers and risks of coronavirus that exceed what we already know. She wrote: โ€œThe modeling of how the U.S. health system could be overwhelmed by respiratory patients has not been publicly released. But obviously, the projections are so chilling, public health officials and politicians have taken the unprecedented step of largely shutting down the country.โ€ 
  • Ms. Attkisson explained the likely rationale for the drastic measures imposed by the government. The source of her information was CDC. She wrote: โ€œTheir hope is that social distancing and self-quarantines can both reduce transmission of coronavirus and spread out the infections so that they do not overwhelm Americaโ€™s hospitals and doctors all at once.โ€
  • Ms. Attkisson used language that clearly did not minimize the anticipated long term impact of coronavirus. She wrote: โ€œNo matter how bad it gets, it is important to have an accurate picture of what scientists call mortality rates for coronavirus.โ€
  • Ms. Attkisson reported the risk that public health officials have since emphasized: โ€œThe greatest invisible danger might be posed by all of the healthy, young people who are infected but will never know it. They can unknowingly spread the virus on surfaces and in the air to the vulnerably sick and elderly.โ€
  • In a report on her television program, Full Measure, Ms. Attkisson conducted an interview with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) raising the unaddressed coronavirus risks posed by the one million people who legally cross into the U.S. each day for trace and tourism.
  • Over the course of several days when Ms. Attkisson was able to track coronavirus deaths daily, her total count was ahead of and typically exceeded the number of U.S. deaths reported by the rest of the media, including The New York Times. It is the opposite of โ€œminimizingโ€ risks.
  • Ms. Attkissonโ€™s reporting on the U.S. coronavirus deaths refers readers to the Johns Hopkins website that tends to show a higher U.S. and world death count than what is widely reported in the media.
  • And perhaps most importantly, leaving no room for doubt, Ms. Attkisson explicitly stated the opposite of what Peters claimed. She wrote: โ€œIt is important to state that nothing in this discussion is intended to minimize the serious risks that can come with coronavirus infections.โ€

False Statement #2:  โ€œMisinformation about the coronavirus continues to circulate across swaths of the American media โ€” on popular podcasts, in blog posts, in online videos and on prime-time cable news shows โ€” as recently as this week.โ€

By including Ms. Attkisson as an example, Peters links her to alleged โ€œmisinformation.โ€ However, Ms. Attkisson is unaware of having published any false information. In her written articles and podcasts about coronavirus, she repeatedly referred readers and listeners to CDC.gov for the most up to date and accurate information. In each report, she has accurately reported and reflected the facts as described by public health experts and scientists at the time. She has accurately and frequently referenced by name public health officials and peer-reviewed, published studies such as the New England Journal of Medicineโ€™s report about Chinaโ€™s clinical characteristics of coronavirus.

False Statement #3: โ€œSome of the disseminators are entertainers. Others are medical doctors. Some are conservatives who insist the virus is being hyped for political purposes. One is a comedian with no medical training who has raised doubts about vaccinating children.โ€

None of the descriptions Peters uses to characterize the people in his article fits Ms. Attkisson since she is not a medical doctor or conservative, has not insisted the virus is being hyped for political purposes, and is not a comedian.

False Statement #4: โ€œEven as President Trump and the federal governmentโ€™s top public health officials warn that the virus is not something to be taken lightly โ€” and the authorities reported more coronavirus deaths in the United States on Wednesday โ€” these commentators make misleading comments, cherry-pick facts and go so far as to claim that the virus could be a hoax or a North Korean plot.โ€

Ms. Attkisson has repeatedly reported on the increasing number of coronavirus cases and deaths, explicitly noting that it is difficult to keep the totals current because they are moving so rapidly. Nothing in her reporting has stated or suggested the virus is to be taken lightly. She has explicitly stated the opposite. Ms. Attkisson has made no misleading comments. Nor has she โ€œcherry pickedโ€ facts of โ€œclaimed the virus is a hoax or N. Korean plot.โ€

False Statement #5: โ€œIn the past, she has promoted the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism.โ€

Ms. Attkisson has never โ€œpromotedโ€ any โ€œdebunked theories.โ€ Her reporting on vaccine safety, including government-acknowledged links to autism, has received recognition from independent national journalism groups including Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), and has been cited favorably as a reference in the New England Journal of Medicine by a Johns Hopkins neurologist.

False Statement #6: โ€œNow she has taken an intense interest in coronavirus.โ€

Peters does not know Ms. Attkisson and did not speak with her. He has no factual way to know the level of โ€œintensityโ€ regarding her โ€œinterest.โ€ (His characterization is false.)

False Statement #7: โ€œThe facts she has chosen recently to highlight falsely leave the impression that the deaths are not all that significant in number and largely contained to one facility.โ€

False on its face, this statement proves that Peters is the one who โ€œcherry-picked factsโ€ and either failed to actually read or listen to Ms. Attkissonโ€™s full publications, or chose to deceptively characterize them. In fact, Ms. Attkisson did not create false impressions. She merely researched and listed literally every death in the U.S. attributed to coronavirus. At the time, most of them had occurred in one facility. Peters may have his own reasons for not wanting that fact reported, but it would defy basic journalism to do a story about where the coronavirus deaths occurred and to not say where they occurred. As the number of deaths have increased, Ms. Attkisson has frequently updated her reporting with a complete list of new deaths and profiles. Her web-based report provides the list without commentary, certainly with no โ€œminimization,โ€ and refers readers to CDC.gov and other resources for the most up to date information.

False Statement #8: โ€œโ€˜Look at those 30-some-odd deaths โ€” most of them were from Washington State,โ€™ Ms. Attkisson said last week on her podcast.โ€

Peters misquotes Ms. Attkisson in an attempt to make it fit his false narrative that she was downplaying coronavirus. Ms. Attkisson did not state, โ€œLook at those 30-some-odd deathsโ€ฆ.โ€ 

The actual full quote from March 13, 2020 is as follows: 

โ€œIn the U.S., looking at the coronavirus deaths reported within the last couple of days, I wanted to get a profile of them, and it was somewhere around 30, itโ€™s gone a little bit higher since then, but looking at those 30-some-odd deaths, most of them were from Washington State.โ€

As you can see, Peters picked up Ms. Attkissonโ€™s quote mid-sentence, out of context, and changed the word โ€œlookingโ€ to โ€œlookโ€ in order to deceptively make it seem as though she were somehow minimizing the deaths.

False Statement #9: โ€œ[Attkisson added] that most of those were in an assisted-living facility. โ€˜The vast majority of those who passed away were from one cluster in the United States โ€” almost none anywhere elseโ€™.โ€

Peters again cherry-picked sections from Ms. Attkissonโ€™s podcast and repeated them out of context, leaving the false impression that she had minimized coronavirus. In fact, Ms. Attkisson factually listed every known death at the time, correctly noting โ€” as did public health expertsโ€” that most of them had occurred in the same Washington State nursing home and there were almost none anywhere else in the country. Peters then omits the fact that Attkisson went on to also list each U.S. coronavirus death outside of Washington State, using descriptions provided by public health officials. Listing all coronavirus deaths cannot be accurately characterized as โ€œmisinformationโ€ or โ€œminimizing risksโ€ or โ€œhighlightingโ€ certain facts to give a โ€œfalse impression.โ€

Disparaging statement: โ€œAnd yet visitors to Ms. Attkissonโ€™s website this week might have come away confused about the severity of the virus, as there were several ads for high-grade protective masks.โ€

This statement implies that Ms. Attkisson had indicated the virus was not โ€œsevere,โ€ which is false. Further, Google ads randomly placed on Ms. Attkissonโ€™s website are controlled by Google and not approved, and usually are not seen, by Ms. Attkisson. If Peters had bothered to contact Ms. Attkisson he could have learned this point.

Inaccurate, incomplete or outdated descriptions: 

โ€œSharyl Attkisson, a former CBS News journalist, has developed a devoted following among right-leaning television viewers.โ€

โ€œSharyl Attkisson, a podcast host, has published her own analysis of coronavirus death rates.โ€

Here, Peters strangely describes Ms. Attkisson by using a title from a former job she left six years ago, instead of her current titles. In fact, Ms. Attkissonโ€™s Sunday television news program โ€œFull Measureโ€ is broadcast to 43 million ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and Telemundo households each week, and has a reach that far surpasses Ms. Attkissonโ€™s viewership while at CBS (or CNN and PBS before that). Ms. Attkisson is also a two-time New York Times bestselling author and recipient of five Emmy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting, among other recognition. The fact that Peters reached back six years on Ms. Attkissonโ€™s resume to describe her using a years-old, former title further demonstrates his ill intent. It is akin to someone writing an article about Peters, referring to him only as a โ€œformer reporter for the Michigan Daily.โ€ It is an incomplete, outdated and inaccurate description.

Peterโ€™s multiple false statements about Ms. Attkisson were conjured by listening to her podcast and reading her website, both of which he also omitted naming or referencing reducing the likelihood that readers would access the original material and see that he had mischaracterized it. 

The false information in the Peters news article is presented as fact and cannot be defended as โ€œopinion.โ€ 

First, there is nothing in the visual presentation of the article that indicates it is anything other than a news article. Second, Peters does not attempt to present his statements as opinion. Third, his description at the end of the article describes him as a national political reporter in the Washington Bureau. Any reasonable readers would take Petersโ€™ statements to be asserting verifiable facts.

Peters and The Times failed to take immediate steps when Ms. Attkisson first posted a notice on social media pointing to the false and misleading information in the article.

As Peters and the Times know, a journalistโ€™s most valuable asset is her credibility and reputation. Disparaging Ms. Attkissonโ€™s work, misquoting, citing it out of context, and falsely asserting that she has โ€œmischaracterizedโ€ information is akin to calling an attorney a โ€œcrookโ€ or accusing a minister of unethical conduct. It stands to do great harm to her professional reputation and her ability to do her job. The retraction, correction and apology are warranted.

Please reply promptly, but no later than close of business Thursday, March 19, 2020.


Sincerely,


Sharyl Attkisson

Fight improper government surveillance. Support Attkisson v. DOJ and FBI over the government computer intrusions of Attkisson's work while she was a CBS News investigative correspondent. Visit the Attkisson Fourth Amendment Litigation Fund. Click here.

      
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About Sharyl Attkisson

Emmy-Award Winning Investigative Journalist, New York Times Best Selling Author, Host of Sinclair's Full Measure

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. martywd says

    March 19, 2020 at 2:39 pm

    With the exception of your reporting (Ms. Attkisson), I read most all 'reporting' these days as if is/was an op-ed. The MSM has truly gone off the rails.

    Good luck getting a retraction with substance from the NYT!
    .

    Reply
  2. Mr. Anth Ropy says

    March 19, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    It's just a shame that the corporate media have such a stranglehold on information that they feel free to lie, make false accusations, and ignore important facts and stories.
    In an honest media world, the so-called competitors of the New York Times would relish the chance to highlight errors in the Times.
    But, in reality, they are on the same team and feel totally free in abusing their "journalistic" powers.
    - All for some agenda that isn't truly in the U.S. public's best interest.

    Reply
  3. Arthur Shatz says

    March 20, 2020 at 7:43 am

    The Times should change its motto to "All the News That's Sh*t to Print." It is truly sad to see how far the standards at the NYT have declined over the years.

    Reply
  4. Neil McTavish says

    March 20, 2020 at 8:01 am

    My first was that the reporter should be sued for slander based on the contents of this letter. If he was โ€œdirectedโ€ to write such a hit job, perhaps that would come out in his defense.

    Thank you for your excellent work. Thank you for publishing this letter.

    Reply
  5. tom chase says

    March 20, 2020 at 11:42 am

    Full Measure is an island for truth and realism in the middle of a cess pool of MSM. Thankfully the program is easily accessed and is an enlightenment.
    Mr Peters should be thankful for correct journalism, conservatism will save himself from himself. The NYT's is a disaster, the paper is bird cage flooring.

    Reply
  6. Leslie J Buchwald says

    March 20, 2020 at 11:42 am

    I have followed Sharyl's work for years, routinely looking forward to her weekly show which offers solid journalism and insight to overlooked issues in the news. Keep up the hard work, you are appreciated!

    Reply
  7. Elizabeth Di says

    March 20, 2020 at 12:46 pm

    Iโ€™m sorry that this has happened to you. In its dismissive response, the NYT has shown its complete contempt for the first principles of good journalism.. What a world we live in now.

    Reply
  8. Jim Lampe says

    March 20, 2020 at 2:22 pm

    The best teacher I ever had told me most things are "simply awful' or awfully simple.".
    This issue is awfully simple; who do you trust to tell the truth? I stand with Sharyl Attkisson.

    Reply
  9. William Wilson says

    March 20, 2020 at 4:16 pm

    Peters, and many others at the NYT are vultures, circling and waiting for the opportunity to swoop in for the kill.

    Reply
  10. Shannon says

    March 20, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    Dear Sharyl Attkisson,
    Wow. Honestly, I think they're threatened by you, because you have maintained your courage and integrity, and you're reaching more people than ever. Your work teaches us how to question better, how to think better. It demonstrates what good reporting is. How important--and revealing-- a simple timeline can be, for instance. I hope you will pursue this wherever it leads. I offer a couple things I've found interesting.
    When we say someone dies of a virus, what's actually happening in our bodies?
    https://preview.tinyurl.com/raux6g5

    When it became legal for intelligence agencies to propagandize the American population, what does that look like? Who creates the propaganda? How do we know when what we are seeing is real or not?
    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/09/psy-ops-propaganda-goes-mainstream.html

    Interesting coincidences:
    https://www.contagionlive.com/news/johns-hopkins-initiative-hopes-to-better-prepare-for-pandemics-public-health-watch
    http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/players/

    You mentioned how crises can spur unscrupulous money grabs. Are you familiar with World Bank tactics as described in "Confessions of an Economic Hitman"?
    https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/06/28/world-bank-launches-first-ever-pandemic-bonds-to-support-500-million-pandemic-emergency-financing-facility
    I learned about all of the above from this astute observer:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRJpP83MqNs

    Finally, this piece from Children's Health Defense raises important questions:
    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/does-the-coronavirus-pandemic-serve-a-global-agenda/

    Your courage inspires me every day. I think maybe it's time to take taekwondo!
    gratefully, shannon

    Reply
  11. TERRY P says

    March 20, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    I had a very difficult time getting to your website today. First the Adobe scam came up and tried for force me to download. I tried again on another search engine and your website was not listed on the first two pages. Tried again and below the heading the words were in Chinese (to discourage people from clicking).

    Then went to the phone and the google scam came on saying..."you are the 500th...with the balloons, etc. Finally clicked on the chinese version and lo and behold, your site was there!

    You may want to check and see what the tech industry is up to now to prevent people getting to your information. Pathetic.

    Reply
  12. MaryAnn Olt says

    March 21, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    You are definitely on The Hit List and you ought to cover this on your weekly TV show. Expose the exposers. Your followers will always support you and your factual style of investigative journalism. You are the real deal in a sea of imposters.

    Reply
  13. Kevin says

    March 22, 2020 at 12:15 am

    Honesty in journalism should not be novel, it should have always have been the norm. It is my hope that the publishers have not changed as much over the years and will place Jeremy Peters's book on the fictions shelf.

    Stay strong, you are our lighthouse in the dense fog.

    The world around us has not gone as mad as those who inform us. Some terrible things are coming around again. Creighton warned us when the globalists started to swarm around the UN/W.H.O.
    It seems we slept in that day.

    Remember this?
    http://www.michaelcrichton.com/why-politicized-science-is-dangerous/

    Did we learn anything?

    Be Best

    Reply
  14. Cat says

    August 2, 2021 at 8:32 am

    Why are you targeting Mercola? Heโ€™s a voice of reason and accurate medical information in the mist of disinformation and propaganda.

    Reply

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