Topic: WorldNetDaily
Well, that was quick.
In a Nov. 11 WorldNetDaily article, Douglas Ernst was proclaiming that the reports of racial tension at the University of Missouri were all based on "unsubstantiated rumors." To wit:
Perhaps the most egregious claim by students at the University of Missouri involves a story of a swastika made out of human waste. The symbol was allegedly written in a dormitory bathroom Oct. 24. Reporting by the Federalist on Monday indicates there is no evidence such an event ever happened.
Billy Donley, president of Mizzou’s Residence Halls Association, said he did not witness the event. Instead, he read about it “via a flyer posted on the walls,” the website reported.
Donaley would not speak to the Federalist for its story, but two other RHA staffers did. Neither of them said they witnessed the swastika made of human waste. One staffer did not know of any photographic evidence of the alleged incident.
The website also called the University of Missouri Police Department, which investigated claim. Again, no evidence was provided.
Concerned Student 1950 also failed to provided photographic or documentary evidence of the swastika.
Contrast that with Ernst's article the next day, in which he pretends he never accused the swastika story of being a hoax:
It took media pressure and a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the University of Missouri’s custodian of records, but the infamous “poop-swastika” photo and police report were released late Wednesday.
The reaction by school officials to an Oct. 24 incident in the university’s Gateway Hall was used by activists to pressure system’s president Timothy Wolfe to resign. Wolfe stepped down on Monday, but up until late Wednesday the school resisted requests to provide its records.Concerned Students 1950, the group organizing campus protests, charge that Wolfe and administrators did not adequately respond to the incident. A police report obtained by the Daily Caller and emails released to the Federalist on Thursday challenge that claim.
- A police report was filed shortly after the incident.
- The university’s Title IX office was immediately notified.
- Gateway Hall hall coordinator Susan Cohn contacted multiple school officials.
- Representatives of the school’s minority communities were informed.
- Officials held discussions on the best way to respond.
- The executive director of Mizzou Hillel was contacted.
Officials had an idea who the culprit was, but could not definitively prove he was guilty.
Salama Gallimore, the lead investigator in the university’s Title IX office, wrote Gateway Hall coordinator Susan Cohn about an incident between a Jewish student and a group of minorities just days before the swastika was found.
Note the new framing -- it's suddenly no longer about whether it was a hoax, it's now about whether campus official adequately responded.
At no point does Ernst state that just the day before he was accusing the swastika story of being an "unsubstantiated rumor," and his earlier story proclaiming the purported hoax remains uncorrected.
UPDATE: WND still hasn't corrected Ernst's earlier story; instead, it has added a link to Ernst's later story proving the swastika story as a "related story."
