Yesterday, the AP ran a story and posted a video that included several false accusations, lies and speculative, unsupported accusations provided by a disgruntled former contractor, who is retaliating after we removed him from our mission for behavior that was below our high standards. In response, and in the interest of transparency, we are releasing two full, unedited videos about the incident – the full video the AP share (not just the clip which fed their false narrative) and a second video which shows the events immediately following. These videos not only clarify what happened, but provide critical context, which contradicts that AP’s reporting and shows that the accusations are unfounded.
When the AP first came to us with these allegations, we asked to see the video in question, and they refused. If they had shared it with us, we would have immediately been able to debunk it. But for reasons only they can explain – and which we believe are below the threshold of journalistic standards – they did not. Their irresponsible reporting amounts to gossip mongering and is disappointing, to say the least. We hope that other journalists will set a higher bar for themselves and their sources moving forward.
Finally, because we have been receiving numerous press inquiries related to the AP’s reporting, we are sharing a full FAQ below, to set the record straight.
