Several establishment media outlets have failed to clarify or add a correction to their original reports that Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda snubbed President Donald Trump by refusing to shake his hand during his visit to Poland on Thursday.
A flood of news reports fueled by a deceptively edited three-second video about first lady Kornhauser-Duda’s awkward passing over of President Trump’s extended hand for first lady Melania Trump’s quickly spread across the Internet.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda slammed the reports in a tweet, calling them “fake news”:
Contrary to some surprising reports my wife did shake hands with Mrs. and Mr. Trump @POTUS after a great visit. Let's FIGHT FAKE NEWS.
— Andrzej Duda (@AndrzejDuda) July 6, 2017
Now, more than 24 hours later, a litany of media outlets have yet to acknowledge that their original reporting was wrong. Below are just five establishment media organizations that have failed to clarify their initial reports.
1. The Washington Post
In a video article titled “Polish first lady passes over Trump’s handshake,” the Washington Post fails to mention the Polish first lady’s handshake with President Trump.
“During a visit to Warsaw on July 6, President Trump was left hanging when Poland’s first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda appeared to pass over his first offer for a handshake and turned to his wife Melania instead,” the Washington Post article reads.
2. The HuffPost
On Thursday, the HuffPost published a video article titled “Poland’s First Lady Ignored The Hell Out Of Trump’s Handshake.”
In the piece, the Post says, “Poland’s first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda snubs the U.S. president.” At no point does the article explain that first lady Kornhauser-Duda did actually shake President Trump’s hand.
3. The Daily Express
The England-based tabloid ran an article titled “WATCH: Polish president’s wife SNUBS Donald Trump handshake – and darts for Melania.”
In the piece, Joe Barnes writes:
The awkward moment was caught on camera as Ms Kornhauser-Duda appeared to snub the US president as she moved towards her US counterpart, Melania.
The footage shows Mr Trump offering his hand to Ms Kornhauser-Duda, however, the first lady of Poland misses out the US President in favour for his wife.
President Trump appeared to be bemused by the event as he goes from displaying a beaming smile to a frown within seconds.
Barnes, however, never mentions that President Trump and first lady Kornhauser-Duda did eventually shake hands.
4. The Root
In a particularly vulgar article tilted “Watch: Trump’s Handshake Rejected by Polish President’s Wife,” The Root’s Stephen A. Crockett Jr., referring to President Trump as “Ass Face,” writes “The Polish president’s wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, didn’t want any part of Ass Face’s tiny deplorable fingers as she straight curbed him when he came in for a handshake.”
At no point does Crockett Jr., a senior editor at The Root, mention that President Trump shook the Polish first lady’s hand.
5. Jezebel
Jezebel, the left-wing feminist outlet, published an article titled “The Small Pleasure of Watching Women Slight Donald Trump.”
Stassa Edwards writes, “The slight was likely accidental,” linking to NBC News’s Bradd Jaffy’s tweet showing the Polish first lady shaking President Trump’s hand — however, Edwards doesn’t bring this fact to her readers’ attention in the article.
Instead, the author basks in what she calls the “delicious” sight of “watching the embodiment of ego and power reduced to standing uncomfortably, emptily staring at cameras recording the moment.”
To be clear, some news outlets have updated or corrected their original reports and added mention of the Polish first lady and President Trump’s handshake.
Perhaps practicing under the belief that journalistic integrity is more important than embarrassing President Trump, Newsweek added an update to its article titled “Watch Donald Trump handshake rejected by Polish first lady in hilariously awkward exchange.”
“An extended video of the encounter during which President Donald Trump reaches out his arm to the first lady of Poland shows Agata Kornhauser-Duda eventually shaking the president’s hand, after initially passing him by in favor of greeting first lady Melania Trump,” an update on the Newsweek articles reads. “The mildly awkward and humorously relatable exchange was just that, and no apparent swipe at the U.S. president.”
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson.
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