AP Tweets About Malaysian Plane 'Crash' Landing --That Didn't Happen

By Christy Strawser
@CStrawser1

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Breaking news ... or maybe not?

The Associated Press Tweeted about a Malaysian plane crash, and then quickly corrected themselves.

To make matters worse for news organizations, the AP used the same language in an "urgent" news alert sent to all its subscribers. Broadcast stations use these alerts in their on-air programming.

This happened amid heightened security worries following two Malaysian plane crash mysteries, one where a plane disappeared into thin air, and another one last week where a plane was shot down in the Ukraine, allegedly by factions tied to Russia.

This time, the erroneous Tweet from the trusted AP was retweeted by reporters and news organizations, including WWJ 950, before the clarification was issued.

Many didn't take the bad information well.

The AP sent CBS Detroit a statement from a senior public relations manager, which reads: "The alert was poorly worded and we sought to clarify it as quickly as possible."

In:
• Plane Crash