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Indybay Feature

Fox pundit's mistake terrorizes family

by reposts
Every once in a while we see an example of the serious consequences that a media mistake can cause. This latest example happened when a Fox pundit identified a home he said belonged to a terrorist. It did belong to the man he named -- three years ago. Now it belongs to a family and they're living a nightmare because of the mistake. The family is also not satisfied with Fox's lackluster efforts to correct the error. (Neither are we.) The LA Times has the full story. Key excerpts below.
In what Fox News officials concede was a mistake, John Loftus, a former U.S. prosecutor, gave out the address Aug. 7, saying it was the home of a Middle Eastern man, Iyad K. Hilal, who was the leader of a terrorist group with ties to those responsible for the July 7 bombings in London.

Hilal, whom Loftus identified by name during the broadcast, moved out of the house about three years ago. But the consequences were immediate for the Voricks.

Satellite photos of the house and directions to the residence were posted online. The Voricks told police, who arranged for the content to be taken down. Someone even removed the street sign where the Voricks live to provide some protection.

Still, it has not been easy.

A driver yelled a profanity at the family and called them terrorists as they barbecued on their patio Aug. 14. Some drivers have stopped and photographed the house, Randy Vorick said.

Last weekend, someone spray-painted "Terrist" on their home. Police, who have regularly patrolled their house since the day after the broadcast, now station a squad car across the street...

The Voricks said they had made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Fox News and Loftus by telephone and e-mail. They want a public apology and correction.

Both have issued apologies — Fox in a one-line statement to the Los Angeles Times and Loftus in an e-mail to the family — after being contacted by the newspaper. The Voricks say they have yet to see or hear a correction.

"John Loftus has been reprimanded for his careless error, and we sincerely apologize to the family," said Fox spokeswoman Irena Brigante.

Loftus also apologized and told The Times last week that "mistakes happen."

"I'm terribly sorry about that. I had no idea. That was the best information we had at the time," he said.

http://www.regrettheerror.com/2005/08/fox_pundits_mis.html

LA HABRA, Calif. A California couple whose home was wrongly identified on Fox News as belonging to an Islamic radical has faced harassment since the report aired August seventh. The backlash has been serious enough to warrant police protection.
Family members have been targets of profanities, threats and false accusations. The word "terrorist" has been spray painted on their property.

Former federal prosecutor John Loftus, who has his own segment on Fox, gave out the address during a broadcast. Loftus said the home belonged to a man with ties to last month's London bombings. But in fact, the man had moved out of that house three years ago.

Fox says Loftus has been reprimanded. Loftus himself told the Los Angeles Times last week that "mistakes happen." He said, "That was the best information we had at the time."

http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=3767125

Loftus said he gave out the address to help local police, and insisted that Hilal, a Garden Grove grocery store owner, was a terrorist.

"I thought it might help police in that area now that we have positively identified a terrorist living in [Orange County]," he said.

Cathy Viray, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said agents were looking into Loftus' terrorist allegations but stopped short of calling it an investigation.

The Voricks' nightmare began Aug. 7 when they were returning from SeaWorld in San Diego with their daughters, 17 and 5, and son, 14.

"I was driving home and my neighbor called saying that some guy on Fox said a terrorist lives at my house and gave out the address," Randy Vorick said.

The next day, the couple left for a four-day cruise to Santa Catalina Island and Ensenada, leaving their children in the care of a house-sitter and Randy Vorick's brother, all unaware of the growing fallout from Fox's report.

When they returned Aug. 12, Randy Vorick said he had received several e-mails and messages on his cellphone from friends who told him that Loftus had been interviewed on KFI-AM (640) radio and repeated his allegation about a terrorist living in La Habra. The radio station did not broadcast his address.

In addition, the house-sitter said police had stopped by Aug. 8 to check on their safety and were keeping an eye on the house. Randy Vorick said he had e-mailed Fox and Loftus, asking for a public retraction and apology.

He said the apologies that came were too little, too late.

On Monday night, the day after someone spray-painted their house, the Voricks were up all night looking at the street and the cars that drove by.

"I just want a good night's sleep," Randy Vorick said. "I don't know when I'm going to have it."

http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/760
by more
La Habra, California - A family have been bombarded with threats and harassment after their house was wrongly identified on a US cable television broadcast as the home of a radical Islamic group's leader.

Since the Fox News report on August 7, Randy and Ronnell Vorick have had people shout profanities at them, take photos of their house and had someone spray-paint the word "terrorist" on their property, the Los Angeles Times said yesterday.

"I'm scared to go to work and leave my kids at home.

I call them every 30 minutes to make sure they're OK," Randy Vorick said.

John Loftus, a former prosecutor, gave out the Orange County address on the TV show, saying it was the home of Iyad Hilal, who allegedly was the US leader of a group with ties to those responsible for the July 7 bombings in London. Satellite photos of the house and directions to the residence were posted online.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=vn20050826070222805C294985
by Typical right wing rhetoric-Inflammatory lies
Inflammatory lies---Fox news in a nutshell, and once the lies get out, the damage is done....
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