The Associated Press newswire service has reportedly fired a journalist who cited an anonymous U.S. official’s incorrect claim that Russia fired a missile that struck Polish territory, killing two people on Nov. 16, according to numerous reports.
Lauren Easton, vice president of corporate communications at The Associated Press, told The Epoch Times the outlet didn’t make the decision lightly.
“The rigorous editorial standards and practices of The Associated Press are critical to AP’s mission as independent news organization. To ensure our reporting is accurate, fair and fact-based, we abide by and enforce these standards, including around the use of anonymous sources,” Easton said in a statement.
“When our standards are violated, we must take the steps necessary to protect the integrity of the news report. We do not make these decisions lightly, nor are they based on isolated incidents.”
The Epoch Times contacted LaPorta for comment.
Ultimately, NATO officials and Poland’s government said that it was, in fact, a Ukrainian missile that landed in Poland.
A Russian missile strike inside Poland, a NATO country, would have threatened a serious escalation of Ukraine’s war with Russia that could have dragged more countries into the conflict if found to be true. Fears spread on social media that it could lead to a third world war.
The Associated Press later replaced the article online with a correction, saying the outlet had “reported erroneously” based on the claims of a “senior American intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.”
Nothing Suggested ‘Intentional Attack’: Poland
After the revelation that the missile came from Ukraine, Poland President Andrzej Duda was at pains to say that nothing suggested the missile strike was “an intentional attack.”“Ukraine’s defense was launching their missiles in various directions, and it is highly probable that one of these missiles, unfortunately, fell on Polish territory,” Duda said in a statement on Nov. 16. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, to suggest that it was an intentional attack on Poland.”
Prior to the Polish president’s statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been quick to blame Russia, decrying the incident as “a very significant escalation” of his country’s war with Russia.
In the meantime, Russian social media accounts posted an image of the missile debris, revealing that it was a type of missile that Ukraine also uses.
Russia Denies Involvement Despite Firing on Ukraine
From the outset, Russia firmly rejected claims that it was involved and accused Polish media and officials of trying to deliberately provoke an escalation of the war by involving a NATO member country.“Russian firepower has launched no strikes at the area between Ukrainian-Polish border. The wreckage published by Polish mass media from the scene in Przewodow have no relation to Russian firepower.”
But the blame has still ultimately been placed on Russia by NATO and the White House, who said Ukraine had been forced to defend itself from Russian missile fire on Nov. 15.
“That said, whatever the final conclusions may be, it is clear that the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident is Russia, which launched a barrage of missiles on Ukraine specifically intended to target civilian infrastructure. Ukraine had—and has—every right to defend itself,” said Adrienne Watson, White House national security council spokeswoman, in a statement.
