Media & Communications Law
L.A. Times Duped by Fake Documents in Tupac Shakur Story
Posted Mar 27, 2008, 10:05 am CDT
By Martha Neil
Updated: A reporter and editor at the Los Angeles Times apologized to readers in an article today after concluding their March 17 article on the 1994 shooting of hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur was based in part on forged documents. The Times said in an investigative report last week that associates of another hip-hop artist, Sean "Diddy" Combs, may have been involved in the bloody assault, in which Shakur was beaten, shot and left for dead in the lobby of a New York recording studio.
The Smoking Gun questioned the authenticity of the documents, which reportedly came from the FBI, and the Times asserted yesterday they would investigate the website's accusation that the newspaper was duped by a federal prison inmate. Later yesterday, statements of apology were issued.
"We should not have let ourselves be fooled," said Los Angeles Times Deputy Managing Editor Marc Duvoisin. "That we were is as much my fault as [reporter Chuck Philips]'. I deeply regret that we let our readers down."
Combs on Monday denied the article as "beyond ridiculous and completely false," according to Newsday. Marc Lichtman, a lawyer for one of the accused associates, James Rosemond, said yesterday: "I would suggest to Mr. Philips and his editors that they immediately print an apology and take out their checkbooks—or brace themselves for an epic lawsuit."
Updated at 10:05 a.m. March 27 to include the Los Angeles Times apology.
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