December 26, 2014

The Best Corrections of 2014

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&searchterm=newspaper%20mistake&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=85460485">Aaron Amat</a>/Shutterstock

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


In 2014, journalists produced a number of solid blunders and fails. That’s bad news for industry esteem, but great news for lovers of hilarious corrections. Here are some of our favorites from the past year:

 

The Economist, Drug Legalization: The magazine’s collective memory gets hazy when attempting to recall the finer details of their push for drug legalization.

 

New York Times, Dick Cheney: An amazing error that speaks volumes about the Bush years.

 

New York Times, Kimye Butts: In a story titled “Fear of Kim Kardashian’s Derriere,” the Grey Lady cites a fake interview where Kanye West compares his butt to the infamous butt of his wife.

 

Mumbai Mirror, Narendra Modi: Sarcasm!

 

NPR, Cow Farts: In a story about gassy cows and climate change, NPR “ended up on the wrong end of cows.”

 

New York Times, “Good Burger”: In which the Times made it embarrassingly obvious their newsroom is unfamiliar with the 1997 film classic, “Good Burger.” (Plus, a bonus #teen error!)

 

Vox, Barry Manilow:  While cataloging the slew of celebrities who appeared on Stephen Colbert’s final show, Vox confuses old white man Barry Manilow for old white man Rod Stewart.

 

New York Times, Gershwin grammar gaffe: Gershwin 101.

 

Courier-Mail, Birth Announcement “Retraction”: Let’s end on a heartwarmer. Well done, Bogert clan!

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate