The New York Post made two "contributions" to coverage of Monday's Boston Marathon bombing: that
12 people had been killed and that a Saudi national who "
smells of gunpowder" had been "caught" by law enforcement officials who considered him a "
suspect." As of 12:45 PM ET on Tuesday, both of these claims remained on
The Post's website (
here and
here)—despite the fact that both of them are wrong.
As we now know, three people were killed in the attack, not 12, and while a Saudi national was questioned by authorities, he was not considered a suspect and was not in custody. The investigation is still ongoing, but at the absolute minimum, The Post's "report" was premature. In fact, Tuesday's New York Times reports that a search of his apartment was "fruitless" and that a law enforcement official concluded he was "not involved" in the attack. Nonetheless, on Monday The Post was ready to convict the guy for the crime of being a Saudi national running from a bomb blast.
One wonders why The Post thinks running away from an explosion constitutes suspicious behavior, but that's nitpicking compared with the fact that they still had these inaccurate stories on their website nearly 24 hours after posting them. Who knows what their motive is, but this much is clear: The New York Post has expanded its lead in the race to be known as the least credible major daily newspaper in America.
11:41 AM PT: And even Fox News is now reporting the Saudi national fingered by The Post has been cleared of any suspicion.