New York Times initially edits out Ben Crump’s misinformation that Ma’Khia Bryant was ‘unarmed’
After criticism, Gray Lady finally notes Crump made inaccurate claim
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New York Times initially left out misinformation spread in a tweet by civil rights attorney Ben Crump from a report about the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday.
The Times report headlined, "Teenage Girl Is Fatally Shot by Police in Columbus, Officials Say," omitted inaccurate information in a tweet from Crump that said Bryant was "unarmed."
The New York Times selectively edited misinformation spread by Civil rights attorney Ben Crump from a report about the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant.
"As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as @ColumbusPolice killed an unarmed 15yo Black girl named Makiyah Bryant. Another child lost! Another hashtag," Crumb tweeted shortly after Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In an image from police bodycam video that shows Ma’Khia Bryant appears to wield a knife during an altercation before being shot by a police officer (Columbus Police Department via WSYX-TV via AP)
Bryant was not "unarmed," as Crump suggested.
The initial Times report merely stated: "As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting" Mr. Crump said. "Another child lost! Another hashtag."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Following online criticism, the Times updated the piece to state, "In the tweet, sent before the footage was released, Mr. Crump incorrectly described her as "unarmed."
The Times did not tell readers it had updated the piece, a maneuver commonly referred to as stealth-editing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Columbus police released body camera footage of the incident, and the video revealed that Bryant attacked two other females, at least one of whom she swung at with a knife.
Political pundit Stephen L. Miller noticed and tweeted evidence of the Times’ original Crump quote.
"I mean it's pretty evident that literally every article these people write has to be archived for when they change it without editors notes. That's where we're at," Miller wrote in a follow-up tweet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But initially editing out the misinformation spread by Crump wasn’t the only eyebrow-raising portion of the Times story. The report began by framing the fact Bryant had a knife as a police claim rather than something clear in bodycam footage.
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The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Cortney O’Brien continued to this report.