Fake News File: Deadline Accidentally Posts Pre-Written Story About Pence Testing Positive for COVID

By Kira Davis | 11:00 PM on October 08, 2020

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AP featured image — FILE – In this Oct. 4, 2018 file photo, a Trump supporter holds up a T-shirt reading “You Are Fake News” before a rally by President Donald Trump in Rochester, Minn. Local members of the media says they’ve noticed more hostility from the public since Trump began his attacks on ‘fake news.’ Trade groups are spreading safety tips because of the incidents. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)

The corporate media has developed a strange addiction to proving President Trump right.

“Fake news” has turned out to be much more than a complaint, and nearly every day, something happens to solidify the truth in that presidential cliché.

Case in point: Deadline.

On Thursday afternoon, the online publication “accidentally” posted a story about Vice President Mike Pence testing positive for COVID. The only problem? It never happened. Apparently the professionals at Deadline had mistakenly posted a draft of a story “reporting” Pence’s positive diagnosis. The draft was quickly pulled, but not before it made a significant impact in the day’s news cycle. Deadline was forced to print a retraction and apology.

Here at RedState, we certainly understand the importance of being prepared for a potential breaking story. We chat a lot about strategy, timing, and who will tackle what pieces of the story. Never once in my recollection have we ever asked a writer to prepare what essentially boils down to a wish-fulfillment story and then keep their fingers crossed for reality to catch up to their fantasy.

Forgive this writer for editorializing this report but frankly, this is pathetic.

Andy Ngo asks the obvious, but we surely will never get a straight answer.