Social media users were incensed when The New York Times editors published an editorial Wednesday night in which they surmised what led to the shooting that morning at a congressional baseball practice. The gunman, 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, fired about 50 shots, sending five people to the hospital, including Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who remains in critical condition. In their analysis, the Times editors suggest that political incitement had something to do with the attack, considering the assailant was a known Bernie Sanders supporter and a loud GOP critic.
In one passage, the editors revisit a debunked conspiracy theory regarding the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in 2011, suggesting that the shooting was inspired by a map published by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
It wasn’t. An FBI investigation, whose findings were revealed last year, found that Jared Lee Loughner was a disturbed young man who may very well have been obsessed with Giffords. His social media postings suggested he was undergoing a "mental breakdown," The Arizona Republic reported.
In conclusion, he was the sole author of the carnage.
The Times, finally recognizing their error, issued the following correction Thursday.
New York Times issues correction to editorial pic.twitter.com/pxNYL3ftGM
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 15, 2017
Happy to see the correction, but why was it there in the first place.
Nothing to say – except what Guy said.
The mere mention of Palin's map is a baseless, bizarre, irrelevant non-sequitur. https://t.co/NhXcIFEjF0
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 15, 2017