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Times to Mayor of Paris: Whoops!

Fake letter blasting Kennedy draws quick apology, explanation

By M. Morris,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 22, 2008 2:44 PM CST
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(Newser) – The New York Times has apologized to the mayor of Paris for publishing a letter purportedly from him that was actually a hoax. The paper didn't confirm the origins of the letter, which described Caroline Kennedy's bid for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat as "both surprising and appalling," and it "should never have been printed," an editors' note posted this afternoon on the Times website said.

"We have asked the New York Times for a denial and an apology," a rep for Mayor Bertrand Delanoe told the AP. The editors' note said the paper has "already expressed our regrets to Mr. Delanoe's office and we are now doing the same to you, our readers." The letter's style raised suspicions with a staffer at the French-language publication France-Amerique, which broke the story on its website.

French Socialist party member and Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe announces he is not a candidate to become Secretary General of the French Socialist Party, Nov. 16, 2008, in Reims.
French Socialist party member and Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe announces he is not a candidate to become Secretary General of the French Socialist Party, Nov. 16, 2008, in Reims.   (AP Photo)
Paris' mayor Bertrand Delanoe talks to Bogota's mayor Samuel Moreno, unseen, during a meeting in Bogota, Saturday, July 12, 2008.
Paris' mayor Bertrand Delanoe talks to Bogota's mayor Samuel Moreno, unseen, during a meeting in Bogota, Saturday, July 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
In this June 5, 2008 file photo, the New York Times building is shown in New York. The newspaper has apologized to Bertrand Delanoe for publishing a fake letter supposedly from the Paris mayor.
In this June 5, 2008 file photo, the New York Times building is shown in New York. The newspaper has apologized to Bertrand Delanoe for publishing a fake letter supposedly from the Paris mayor.   (AP Photo)
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It is Times procedure to verify the authenticity of every letter. ... We should have contacted Mr. Delanoe's office to verify that he had, in fact, written to us. We did not do that.
- New York Times editors' note

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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Guest
Dec 22, 2008 3:12 AM CST
Times failure to follow this simple procedural safeguard is what's appalling, if not surprising.

The letter in question
New York Times

The original story (in French)
France-Amerique

Shockignly, the right wing is unsympathetic
Weekly Standard

More on Kennedy and the Times
Gawker

Politics • Media • Money

 
New York Times • France • Paris • Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg • Bertrand Delanoe

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