Here are two stories from the Reuters News Service. Compare the Gore quotes and ask yourself how they could have gotten things this far wrong…
Al Gore Says Now Restaurateur in Tennessee
Thursday, November 29 1:51 PM ETLAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) – Former Vice President Al Gore told a Nigerian audience on Thursday that he now runs a family restaurant in Tennessee.
Gore narrowly lost the 2000 U.S. presidential election to Republican George W. Bush.
"This has been a time of transition for me and it hasn't been easy," Gore told an audience at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs."
"For example, there are usually a lot of cars on the road. Now it takes a lot longer to get around, and given that I haven't driven for eight years, I'm not sure it's wise (to drive)," said Gore, who was driven in a limousine while he was vice president.
He also told the capacity audience that he had started the new family enterprise in his home state.
"We have started a family restaurant in Tennessee and we are running it ourselves. It is a low-cost restaurant," he said. "I am also a visiting professor or VP for short."
Spokesmen in the United States were not immediately available to provide further details.
That's the first story. Here's the second story…
CORRECTION: Al Gore Restaurateur Story Withdrawn
Friday, November 30 6:23 PM ETWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Nov. 29 LAGOS, Nigeria, story headlined "Al Gore says now restaurateur in Tennessee" is wrong and is withdrawn. The story was based on an erroneous hearing of Gore's remarks.
According to a transcript provided by a representative for Gore, the former vice president said "…we stopped at a little family restaurant in Tennessee. We were eating there by ourselves. It was a low-cost restaurant called Shoney's."
There will be no substitute story.
This is a pretty good example of how much we can trust the news. And, uh, how come it took more than 24 hours to correct this?