NYTimes Issues Correction Over Climate Change Story

The New York Times has issued a correction after publishing a climate report on Tuesday it said was "leaked" to the paper by a scientist -- only to learn the report had been online for months.

Under the front-page sub-headline, "Fears of Suppression," the article claimed the draft report had "not been made public" by the Trump administration but "a copy of it was obtained by The New York Times."

According to The Hill, the report was available on the Internet Archive non-profit website at the start of the year, however. It was also available on The National Academies of Sciences Public Access Records Office website, which is accessible to the public.

The Times issued a correction on page A17 of its Wednesday edition.

"An article on Tuesday about a sweeping federal climate change report referred incorrectly to the availability of the report," the paper wrote. "While it was not widely publicized, the report was uploaded by the nonprofit Internet Archive in January; it was not first made public by The New York Times."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders slammed the Times for not reaching out to the White House press office for comment before publishing the Tuesday report.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

"It’s very disappointing, yet entirely predictable to learn The New York Times would write off a draft report without first verifying its contents with the White House or any of the federal agencies directly involved with climate and environmental policy," Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

"As others have pointed out – and The New York Times should have noticed – drafts of this report have been published and made widely available online months ago during the public comment period," she continued.

The Washington Post reports as part of its corrective effort, the New York Times has pulled the language saying that “a copy of it was obtained by the New York Times,” as well as the mistaken assertion that it has “not yet been made public.” Even so, the article continues to carry this line: “Another scientist involved in the process, who spoke to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity, said he and others were concerned that it would be suppressed.” As well as this one: “Scientists say they fear that the Trump administration could change or suppress the report.”