Bloomberg News Fires Reporter After Breaking Prisoner Swap Embargo

Bloomberg News has fired the lead author of an article that incorrectly said Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich had been released by Russia, among several disciplinary actions the news organization took after a review of the matter, according to WSJ.

The Bloomberg article, which came out at 7:41 a.m. ET Thursday, was published while Gershkovich and other prisoners were still in Russian custody—en route to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was later corrected to reflect the fact that the prisoners hadn’t been released yet at the time of publication.

Bloomberg News Editor in Chief John Micklethwait wrote in a note to staff on Monday that the article’s publication “could have endangered” the negotiated swap that freed Gershkovich and others. 

“Even if our story mercifully ended up making no difference, it was a clear violation of the editorial standards which have made this newsroom so trusted around the world,” he wrote. 

After an investigation, Micklethwait said Bloomberg has taken “disciplinary action against a number of those involved, and we will be reviewing our processes to ensure that failures like this don’t happen again.”

Jennifer Jacobs, a senior White House reporter and the article’s lead author, has been let go, according to a person familiar with the matter. “In reporting the story about Evan’s release, I worked hand in hand with my editors to adhere to editorial standards and guidelines,” Jacobs posted on X on Monday afternoon. She didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“Reporters don’t have the final say over when a story is published or with what headline,” she wrote. “This is why checks and balances exist within the editorial processes.” 

Gershkovich had been in Russian custody for 491 days. He and more than a dozen others jailed by the Kremlin were exchanged on Thursday for Russians held in the U.S. and Europe, including a convicted murderer. It was the largest and most complex East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.

As the news began to unfold, media organizations rushed to prepare their stories and a briefing by U.S. government authorities early Thursday laid out what was about to happen. News outlets were embargoed, meaning they agreed to hold the news until it was clear the prisoners were out of Russian custody and on their way from Turkey, where the exchange was set to take place. 

Details were difficult to obtain on the ground. A statement from Turkey’s intelligence agency saying Gershkovich was free—before he was actually in U.S. custody—appeared to be a critical ingredient in some reporting.

Bloomberg’s article preceded the U.S. government’s briefing and came hours before other major U.S. news organizations reported on Gershkovich’s release.