As other news outlets struggled to verify and report breaking developments in the Boston Marathon bombings, one paper managed to cut through the clutter and report the facts before they were even facts. With shoe-leather and sensationalism, the New York Post scooped its competitors and breathlessly reported that 12 had been killed by the blasts, that two unexploded devices had been found, and that a suspect — a Saudi national — had been identified and taken into custody.

Unfortunately, none of these facts happened to be true. The death toll was three, not 12. There were zero unexploded devices, not two. And the “suspect” — a 20-year-old spectator who had been injured by the bombing — was in actuality a “person of interest” who cooperated with investigators and was quickly cleared of any guilt.

But the Post doubled down on their strategy. »