Globe and Mail Falls for Hoax that Michael Hayden Shot Dead at LAX
In its report on the shooting at LAX this morning, The Globe and Mail published a shocking report attributed to the LAPD that former NSA chief Michael Hayden had been shot dead in the incident, and that a "radical Christian group" had claimed responsibility.
Canada's Sun News Network and the BBC both repeated the hoax report without a source, and all have since scrubbed the claim from their sites.
The Globe and Mail eventually retracted the report and replaced it with the line "Reports that a former NSA chief was among the victims appear to be a hoax."
It remains unclear where the hoax originated, but the Globe and Mail article on the shooting does cite Reuters and the Associated Press in its byline.
Update 2:10 p.m.: It appears the hoax first surfaced on a fake breaking news Twitter account with a single tweet. (Screengrab in case it gets removed.)
