It Was a Mistake. It Was Wrong. And I'm Sorry.

The title of this post comes from a thread I posted on Twitter yesterday, regarding an article I wrote Monday evening that originally questioned whether David Hogg was on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus during the shooting. A comment he made during an interview for a CBS documentary originally led me to believe there was a contradiction in his comments. That was a grievous mistake. It was absolutely wrong. And I am sorry.

The tweet thread below has more details. As I’ve said, for both those who have offered words of support or criticism, I have learned from this experience and am grateful for it. If you don’t read further, just know this: David Hogg was absolutely on campus during the shooting. I have zero doubt about that, and deeply regret the part I played in adding confusion and animosity to an already heated debate.

To clarify @Sulliview’s story, I did NOT get the story from infowars, gatewaypundit, etc. People had been sending me posts & video clips for hours, which I assumed were fake. It didn’t seem believable to me that Hogg would say that he wasn’t at school. /1 https://t.co/ZBngvNMo59

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

The video clip I originally saw was edited and shorter, and the audio didn’t sync up with the video. It didn’t make sense that a CBS documentary was being posted by non-CBS accounts. Again, I replied to those who sent it to me that I thought it was a doctored video. /2

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

I’ve read stories accusing reality shows of dubbing or deceptively editing what people say. I assumed that’s what this was: doctored. Then I was sent it from CBS’ website directly. There was the video, in full, in better quality, w/a transcript. Definitely David Hogg speaking. /3

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

Hogg said, “On the day of the shooting, I got my camera and got on my bike and rode as fast as I could three miles from my house to the school to get as much video and to get as many interviews as I could because I knew that this could not be another mass shooting.” /4

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

There was no context given to that quote to make it clear he meant at 6 pm that evening (which is what he was talking about). I knew Hogg was a student journalist & had interviewed other students, but I had not watched his actual footage. /5

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

This may sound strange for this day & age but I actively avoid watching many graphic viral videos. The beheading of Daniel Pearl, video from Pulse, etc. — I haven’t seen them. I don’t make myself watch unless the video *itself* is what I need to understand. /6

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

Like the Philando Castile video. That little girl saying she didn’t want mommy to get shot too was heartbreaking, haunting. But seeing the video was necessary to understand the shooting. With Parkland, seemed cut & dry. Cruz did it, he confessed, no doubt about what happened. /7

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

So I didn’t watch the videos posted from MSD during the shooting or immediately after, with traumatized students & families being interviewed. I’ve watched a lot that they’ve said later, but not much from that horrible day. /8

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

Let’s be VERY clear: my original interpretation of the CBS video was WRONG. It was a mistake. Hogg was definitely at school during the shooting, went home several hours later and biked back around 6 pm. Anyone saying otherwise is WRONG. /9

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

But it also was a mistake. I would never intentionally mislead our readers. I misunderstood the CBS video because I didn’t have the full context. As soon as I was sent the Vox post that provided the context (the 6 pm timeframe), I updated my article & the headline. /10

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

I also deleted all my posts sharing w/original headline & DMed those I knew who had shared it, asking them to delete & share the update. As far as I know, everyone who I contacted did this. We also deleted the original tweet from the RedState account & RTed the new headline. /11

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

Many of the blogs who ran with the story before I did, that I had rejected as not credible, are still not retracting this false story. One is even claiming that my retraction is the “establishment” & “twitter smart set” “pushing a conspiracy theory” to defend Hogg. /12

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

My mistake was dumb; that’s even dumber. Vox’s reporting re: 6 pm was accurate. Hogg was where he claimed to be on the day of the shooting. I accused him of lying when I misunderstood the CBS video’s context. He was NOT lying about this. Those who still attack him are lying. /13

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

During the past few days, I’ve condemned the fake photoshop of Emma Gonzalez tearing the Constitution as “immoral” & memes comparing Hogg to Hitler as “insane” & “vile.” You won’t see me share such garbage. None of these students are crisis actors or secretly 25 yrs old, etc. /14

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

But my dumb mistake gave fuel to the vultures who deliberately create & spread such garbage. I’ve been a vocal critic of the alt-right & these types of websites & twitter accounts, and I hate that something I did fed their nasty, hateful narratives, even temporarily. /15

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

I disagree with David Hogg on policy issues. I have criticized his rhetoric against Rubio. But he was telling the truth about his whereabouts on Feb. 14, & I called him a liar. It was a mistake. It was wrong. I apologize to him, and to our readers, for getting this so wrong. /16

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

The corrected post is here. We are not deleting it. The original text remains in strikethough text for transparency’s sake. That is a decision on which I & our editors are in full agreement. /17 https://t.co/twUizQZws5

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

In conclusion, David Hogg was telling the truth, I was wrong, and I’m sorry. Thank you to everyone who has defended me; I appreciate it. Thank you to everyone who has criticized me; I’ve learned from this experience. /18

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

If I can do some good from all this traffic…please support your local @Habitat_org. Despite our political differences, that is a well-run charity we can all support that makes our communities better. So if you love me or hate me, send them $ or donate items. Thank you. 19/19

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018

FYI, this infographic has good details on what donations @Habitat_org can accept. Even clothing at some locations! (I know South Austin does). https://t.co/OKnEZiuyto

— Sarah Rumpf (@rumpfshaker) March 27, 2018