A journalist with The Associated Press thought she had a big scoop. Little did she know she would have to be scooped off the ground after being obliterated in a fact-check by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Let’s start with Copp’s post. (READ)
There’s a huge problem with her story. DOGE does NOT have an official Facebook account. Oopsie-doodle!
Leavitt saw the post and ripped into Copp for spreading fake news. Check this out.
More fake news from the @AP
1. DOGE doesn’t even have a Facebook page
2. No air traffic controllers nor any professionals who perform safety critical functions were terminated
Copp mentioned the fake DOGE Facebook account three times. Once in her X post and twice in her story. Bold has been added to the excerpts.
That post drew the attention of a DOGE Facebook account, which reacted with a laughing emoji. Soon after, he saw the same account reacting to much older posts through his personal Facebook feed.
“The official DOGE Facebook page started harassing me on my personal Facebook account after I criticized Tesla and Twitter,” Spitzer-Stadtlander wrote in a post over the weekend on Linked In. “Less than a week later, I was fired, despite my position allegedly being exempted due to national security.”
He added: “When DOGE fired me, they turned off my computer and wiped all of my files without warning.”
Some will argue that Copp was merely quoting the source. Real journalists know you must still verify information provided by sources. In this case, Copp was obligated to research if the alleged DOGE Facebook account existed and if it was official as the source claimed. Copp did not do this basic journalistic duty. It's damaged her credibility and the reliability of her source.
Commenters on X were furious.
Apparently, yes.
Posters say ridicule of the AP is well-deserved.
AP already has a contentious relationship with President Donald Trump’s White House. They recently lost the privilege of entering the Oval Office and being on Air Force One because of a flap over using 'Gulf of America' in stories. As of this writing, AP has not retracted its erroneous reporting.