The New York Post is catching heat over a report claiming Kamala Harris’ children’s book is being handed to undocumented minors at the border. As it turns out, the story is false and the reporter behind it has resigned after being “ordered” to write fake news about the vice president.
Longtime New York Post reporter Laura Italiano hit up Twitter on Tuesday to admit that she didn’t push back when “ordered” to write a false story that the Biden administration is welcoming migrant children to America with copies of Harris’ 2019 book, “Superheroes Are Everywhere.”
“The Kamala Harris story — an incorrect story I was ordered to write and which I failed to push back hard enough against — was my breaking point,” Italiano tweeted on Tuesday.
“Unaccompanied migrant kids brought from the US-Mexico border to a new shelter in Long Beach, Calif., will be given a copy of her 2019 children’s book, ‘Superheroes are Everywhere,’ in their welcome kits,” the New York Post reported on April 23.
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According to The Washington Post, only a single copy of the book was donated to a migrant shelter in Long Beach, California, as part of a charity drive.
“Harris’s children’s book superheroes Are Everywhere is included in welcome packs for migrant children arriving at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, a recently converted influx facility,” Fox News reported days after the Post ran its story.
Italiano’s report was first published on the Post’s front page Saturday. Three days later, the veteran journalist owned up for serving “an incorrect story.” On Tuesday, the Post acknowledged at the bottom of the original article that Italiano’s report was untrue.
“Editor’s note: The original version of this article said migrant kids were getting Harris’ book in a welcome kit, but has been updated to note that only one known copy of the book was given to a child,” the statement read in full.
“The Kamala Harris story — an incorrect story I was ordered to write and which I failed to push back hard enough against — was my breaking point,” Italiano tweeted Tuesday after the Post removed her original story from the website and replaced it with a corrected version. This hasn’t stopped conservative news outlets from repeating the false information and GOP lawmakers from expressing their outrage over it.
“After learning officials are handing out Kamala Harris’ book to migrants in facilities at the border, it’s worth asking… Was Harris paid for these books? Is she profiting from Biden’s border crisis?” tweeted Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.
“The Biden administration’s weakness caused a surge of illegal immigration. Now they’re forcing taxpayers to buy Kamala Harris’s book to give to those illegal immigrants?” Senator Tom Cotton wrote on Twitter.
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“The City of Long Beach, in partnership with the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, has a citywide book and toy drive that is ongoing to support the migrant children who are temporarily staying in Long Beach at the US Department of Health and Human Services shelter,” Kevin Lee, a spokesperson for the city, told The Washington Post. “The book you reference is one of hundreds of books that have already been donated. The book was not purchased by HHS or the City.”
The office of the vice president confirmed the book made its way to a migrant center on the west coast via a donation.
“A citywide donation for books and toys was organized by the community to donate to children being housed at migrant facilities,” Sabrina Singh, a spokesperson for Harris, told the Washington Post. “The Office of the Vice President was not aware that her children’s book was donated.”
theGRIO previously reported that President Joe Biden tapped Harris to lead the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at the U.S. southern border.
“When she speaks, she speaks for me,” Biden said, noting her past work as California’s attorney general makes her specially equipped to lead the administration’s response.
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