Early Monday afternoon, CBS News reported that musician Tom Petty had died soon after suffering cardiac arrest. However, Petty’s manager didn’t announce the 66-year-old entertainer’s death until nearly midnight.
The inaccurate report caused an outpouring of online tributes and additional news stories—which later were retracted.
Courtney Love, Talib Kweli, Kid Rock, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Stanley and Lin-Manuel Miranda were among scores of fans posting remembrances on Twitter, where Petty was the top worldwide trending topic Monday afternoon. A memorial was scheduled for his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
When CBS reported Mr. Petty’s death on Twitter, preceded by a capitalized banner “JUST IN,” the network attributed the news to the Los Angeles Police Department. In an article published online, there was no mention of the L.A.P.D., merely the phrase “CBS News has confirmed.” (CBS later deleted the tweet.)Numerous other news outfits, including Entertainment Weekly, Slate and HuffPost, soon posted articles about Mr. Petty’s death, all attributing the news to CBS. Rolling Stone even got a statement from Bob Dylan, who said: “I thought the world of Tom. He was great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I’ll never forget him.”
But about an hour after the CBS report went online, the Los Angeles Police Department said it could not confirm his death, setting off mass confusion on social media over Mr. Petty’s actual condition. Mr. Petty, 66, had been taken to a hospital after going into cardiac arrest at his home in California, TMZ reported. But while TMZ had also reported that the singer was unresponsive and had been taken off life support, it never reported that he was dead.
CBS updated its story and changed the headline to, “LAPD clarifies it cannot confirm Tom Petty’s death.” It also tweeted screenshots of LAPD’s response on Twitter:
The LAPD says it cannot confirm earlier reports of singer Tom Petty’s death. TMZ reports that the singer is still clinging to life. http://pic.twitter.com/Xv4UtVdY4Z
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2017
Twitter users quickly and harshly derided the network for the mistake:
CBS wanted to be the first to report Tom Petty’s death, got it wrong, and created fake news instead. Lots to unpack there.
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) October 2, 2017
No confirmed death on Tom Petty. He's still clinging to life. CBS retracts story. Timeless standards reaffirmed.
— Richard Burr (@RichardBurr_DN) October 2, 2017
CBS News: Tom Petty is dead. CBS News 1 hour later: http://pic.twitter.com/tLjATPFo0e
— Adam Steinhouse (@adamsteinhouse) October 3, 2017
CBS News, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Slate and HuffPost all reported death of Tom Petty without fact-checking. Let that sink in.
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) October 3, 2017
I’m going to sleep now. When I wake up I fully expect to hear that Tom Petty got out of bed, brushed himself off & told CBS to eff off.
— PeaceLove&Outrage (@1980Dorothy) October 3, 2017
So, CBS lawyer tweets horrible stuff about Las Vegas victims, gets fired, then CBS falsely claims Tom Petty died, What is news anymore?
— DarkDaze (@krazylee4) October 3, 2017
Though CBS took most of the heat for the false news report, other publications scrambled to update their reporting—and Petty’s daughter took to Instagram to post a scathing rebuke of Rolling Stone’s story.
The situation caused many to lash out at CBS News and other publications, underlining readers’ declining trust in news media outlets.
That, however, wasn’t the only crisis that CBS faced yesterday.
[RELATED: Keep your cool in a crisis with these tips.]
The network fired vice president and senior counsel Hayley Geftman-Gold after reports surfaced of her comments on Facebooks regarding the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
In what was possibly a reference to the Sandy Hook massacre a few years back, Geftman-Gold wrote: "If they wouldn't do anything when children were murdered I have no hope that Repugs will ever do the right thing. I'm actually not even sympathetic [because] country music fans often are Republican gun toters."
A @CBS legal exec thought the Las Vegas victims had it coming. http://pic.twitter.com/YjeSyAox59
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) October 2, 2017
CBS gave the following statement to The Washington Post:
This individual, who was with us for approximately one year, violated the standards of our company and is no longer an employee of CBS. Her views as expressed on social media are deeply unacceptable to all of us at CBS. Our hearts go out to the victims in Las Vegas and their families."
On Monday night, Geftman-Gold gave the following statement to Fox News:
Earlier today I posted an indefensible post in a Facebook discussion thread concerning the tragic Las Vegas shooting, a statement I sincerely regret. I am deeply sorry for diminishing the significance of every life affected by Stephen Paddock’s terrorism last night and for the pain my words have inflicted on the loved ones of the victims. My shameful comments do not reflect the beliefs of my former employer, colleagues, family, and friends. Nor do they reflect my actual beliefs — this senseless violence warrants the deepest empathy. I understand and accept all consequences that my words have incurred.
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