Download
The New York Post has issued a retraction and apology after incorrectly reporting that the gunman who fired shots at former President Donald Trump was Chinese.
In an article published on July 13 about the gunman, the New York Post wrote, “The shooter, identified as a Chinese man…” The article was updated to clarify that the shooter was “identified only as a white male.” The publication apologized for the mistake in an editor’s note at the bottom of the article.
“In a version of this article on July 13, the Post erroneously reported that the shooter was a Chinese man, based on wrong information we obtained from sources. We quickly corrected the mistake. We sincerely apologize for the error,” the note reads.
The FBI has since identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Several Asian American leaders and organizations had called for the NY Post to apologize for their mistake.
Stop AAPI Hate, a non-profit organization that has been documenting anti-Asian hate incidents since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, released a statement after the NY Post issued the retraction and apology, saying they will be investigating the misreporting.
“What the New York Post did was incredibly dangerous,” the organization said in a statement. “Yes, the Post issued a retraction. But the shooting of a former president is, frankly, a shocking moment for it to have engaged in such reckless misreporting. It’s hard to believe the New York Post did not realize what was on the line when it published that false claim – the safety of Asian American communities. We will of course be investigating and looking to speak to the Post further.”
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts to produce diverse content about the AAPI communities. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.