Forget breaking news reports.
Both CNN and Fox were called out this afternoon by the FBI for broken news reports in claiming that a Boston bombing arrest had been made and authorities had a suspect in custody.
Those reports are false.
CNN even went so far as to claim a “dark-skinned male” was spotted walking away from the scene in video footage, while Fox News “confirmed” that an arrest had been made.
The Associated Press said that a “subject was in custody.”
4Chan, meanwhile, purports to have isolated a suspect on camera.
In response to these erroneous assertions making it to air and print, the FBI has released a statement that takes the outlets to task:
“Contrary to widespread reporting, no arrest has been made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack. Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate.
“Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.”
Somewhere, Aaron Sorkin is writing a killer episode of The Newsroom Season 3 in response to this nonsense.