The media is melting down. Their lies are unravelling at an astonishing pace.
And this Left-wing reporter was forced to eat their words after slandering Donald Trump.
In a stunning display of journalistic irresponsibility, PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff found herself backpedaling on Wednesday after pushing a dubious story about former President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Both leaders swiftly denied the claims, leaving PBS scrambling to clean up the mess.
Woodruff took to X to issue a half-hearted apology, admitting, “This was a mistake and I apologize for it,” after she reported that Trump had allegedly urged Netanyahu to delay a hostage deal with Hamas to gain a political edge in the 2024 election.
The story, which Woodruff now admits was not based on her own reporting, was sourced from reports by Axios and Reuters, both of which have since been called into question.
“I want to clarify my remarks on the PBS News special on Monday night about the ongoing ceasefire talks in the Middle East,” Woodruff wrote, trying to distance herself from the erroneous reporting.
“In the live TV moment, I repeated the story because I hadn’t seen later reporting that both sides denied it.”
NEWS
PBS’ Judy Woodruff has issued a clarification and an apology for her remarks in this clip which went viral.
“I want to clarify my remarks on the PBS News special on Monday night about the ongoing cease fire talks in the Middle East.
As I said, this was not based on my… pic.twitter.com/4nIhczmpj5
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 21, 2024
This is a glaring example of PBS’s sloppy standards, where even seasoned anchors like Woodruff seem comfortable repeating unverified claims without doing their due diligence.
During the segment, Woodruff boldly stated, “The reporting is that former President Trump is on the phone with the Prime Minister of Israel, urging him not to cut a deal right now, because it’s believed that would help the Harris campaign.”
This claim was promptly and forcefully rejected by Netanyahu’s office, which labeled it “a complete lie.”
Axios, the original source of the misinformation, updated its story after Netanyahu’s denial, a move that came too late to prevent PBS from airing the misleading report.
Trump also refuted the claim, clarifying that his last conversation with Netanyahu took place in July at Mar-a-Lago, far removed from the alleged August phone call Axios reported.
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., didn’t hold back in his criticism of Woodruff, slamming her for spreading falsehoods.
“Judy Woodruff… needs to retract her statement — if she has any, I don’t know, integrity as a journalist,” he said, highlighting the deep damage such reckless reporting can do.
Trump campaign surrogate @michaelgwaltz calls on @JudyWoodruff of PBS to RETRACT her report that Trump is urging Netanyahu to reject a hostage deal
“That is false. It’s ridiculous.” pic.twitter.com/16ZCRiXICK
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) August 21, 2024
Waltz pointed out that even Netanyahu’s office had categorically denied the story, making Woodruff’s report not only baseless but irresponsible.
Meanwhile, PBS has yet to respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital, leaving viewers to wonder whether the publicly funded network will take any accountability for the blunder.
This incident serves as yet another reminder of the growing distrust in mainstream media, where agendas often seem to outweigh accuracy.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
