This past weekend, a New York Post story—which has since been edited—sparked controversy when it claimed copies of Vice President Kamala Harris's children's book, Superheroes Are Everywhere, was being distributed to migrants in care packages.
Immediately, conservative media was up in arms over supposed taxpayer money being used to buy and distribute Harris' book to children who weren't U.S. citizens.
The outrage from the right was deafening, but there was just one problem.
Multiple fact-checks quickly proved the story to be false.
It turned out a single copy of Harris's book had been donated by a member of the public. In truth, there was no scandal at all.
But conservative media did a far worse job distributing the correction than they did spreading the false story to their many followers.
On Tuesday April 27, Laura Italiano—the New York Post reporter who penned the false story—publicly resigned on Twitter, claiming she had been "ordered" to write it against her wishes.
There were some online who immediately extended their sympathies.
Others were more skeptical of her version of events.
They wondered who ordered her to write the false story and questioned why she went stood by it until the lies were exposed.
Whether or not one feels sympathy for Italiano, there's no denying the situation surrounding her false story demonstrates the power of misinformation in media.
It's only a matter of time before outlets like Fox News, NewsMax, OAN and the New York Post get their hands on another false exposé full of lies which manage to enrage their followers.
