WhatFinger

Oops. Sorry!

Hours after she files a lawsuit, Daily Mail recants story claiming Melania Trump worked as an escort

By Robert Laurie ——--September 2, 2016

American Politics, News | CFP Comments | Reader Friendly | Subscribe | Email Us

Back in August, the Daily Mail published an article about Melania Trump's racy modeling days. In it, they basically claimed that she had once worked as an escort. While it's true they didn't explicitly state the allegations were fact, they rode a knife edge, repeating rumors and shoveling slimy innuendo in such a way that readers were left with the impression that such accusations were probably true. The story was picked up by a variety of outlets, but was immediately denied by the Trump camp. Within two days there were rumblings of a lawsuit and several websites, including Inquistr, Bipartisan Report, and Tarpley.net backpedaled.
The Daily Mail argues that "The point of the article was that these allegations could impact the U.S. presidential election even if they are untrue," but they never offered an apology or retraction. So the lawyers went to work. This week, Melania Trump filed a $150 million lawsuit ...and within hours the Mail posted a retraction and an apology. While they're trying hard to claim that they published the rumors as just that - unsubstantiated rumors - it's pretty clear that they're afraid of becoming the next Gawker. From the Daily Mail's retraction:
To the extent that anything in the Daily Mail's article was interpreted as stating or suggesting that Mrs. Trump worked as an 'escort' or in the 'sex business,' that she had a 'composite or presentation card for the sex business,' or that either of the modeling agencies referenced in the article were engaged in these businesses, it is hereby retracted, and the Daily Mail newspaper regrets any such misinterpretation.
The Daily Mail newspaper and MailOnline/DailyMail.com have entirely separate editors and journalistic teams. In so far as MailOnline/DailyMail.com published the same article it wholeheartedly also retracts the above and also regrets any such misinterpretation.
So far, there's been no announcement regarding the lawsuit. It may continue, or it may not. However, the speed with which the retraction was offered is telling. That alone will most likely put the kibosh on anyone who was thinking of running with the innuendo.

Support Canada Free Press

Donate
Subscribe

View Comments
Robert Laurie——

Robert Laurie’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain.com

Be sure to “like” Robert Laurie over on Facebook and follow him on Twitter. You’ll be glad you did.

VIEW Comments

Sponsored