FOX gives out family's address on air, wrongly says terrorist lives there, with predictable results

[charlie]

Randy and Ronnell Vorick thought La Habra was about as far away as one could get from terrorism. They were wrong.

For the last 2 1/2 weeks, the lives of the couple and their three children have been plunged into an unsettling routine of drivers shouting profanities, stopping to photograph their house and -- most recently -- spray-painting a slogan on their property.
...

"I'm scared to go to work and leave my kids home. I call them every 30 minutes to make sure they're OK," Randy Vorick said.

"I keep telling myself this can't be happening to me. This can't be happening to my family. But it is. I want our lives to be normal again," he said.
...

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.

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/25/local/me-lahabr...

[ZombieHorde]

1. Scary. nt

[Occulus]

26. I'll pin this up here so people don't continue to be confused- this was in 2005

Look at the URL.

edit: it would be nice to know what happened, though.

Anyone? I'm tired from work tonight, and I don't have the mental energy to do research right now...

[Flabbergasted]

2. The best part of the story is that the vandal painted....

"terrist"

[Critters2]

6. !

[subcomhd]

24. The spelling

always the spelling.

[LeftishBrit]

28. Some years ago..

an English vigilante mob attacked the home of a PAEDIATRICIAN because they confused her job title with PAEDOPHILE.

[lunatica]

45. That in itself is horrifying and not funny

Just for a moment picture your children having their home assaulted that way. Picture yourself reacting to having that word spray painted on your house.

Brutish ignorance of people who drive by your house shouting obscenities is not funny. I'm sure you know that or you wouldn't be on DU

[dem629]

50. LOL

[bkkyosemite]

3. He needs to put a huge sign on front lawn saying Fox News Gave Out Wrong Address Am Suing!!!

[Historic NY]

4. Yes indeed I'd bet some legal eagle would take it Pro Bono.

[skepticscott]

65. No, he needs to put out a big sign saying

"Fox News Gave Out Wrong Address...My Second Amendment Rights Will Blow Your Fucking Head Off if You Set Foot On My Property"

[Pharaoh]

68. or maybe a hugh sign

[onestepforward]

5. They need to get a really good lawyer!

[Hekate]

7. Christ on a trailer hitch, this family could be killed in their own home by fans of FOX "news"...

What recourse do they even have? A determined nutcase could slip past that patrol car parked across the street -- and of course the cops will eventually tire of doing that anyway. Who has any idea what the FBI is actually doing about it? And worst of all, threatening the FOX Propaganda Empire with a lawsuit is absurd, given that they have more money than God to fight lawsuits.

My heart goes out to this family.

Hekate

[Critters2]

9. The city should send Fox a bill for the extra work hours officers have

had to put in because of this. At the very least!

[Hekate]

19. Now that would make a statement, at least. It's unconscionable. nt

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. And not any on-air apology or correction

from those assfaces at Fox.

How the FUCK do those people get away with this bullshit?

I hope someone is suing. I certainly hope so....................................

[charlie]

10. The impulse for vigilantism on the right

is stronger than horniness in a hormonal teenager. They'd fucking burn their own houses down if FOX gave out the address, before they realized what they were doing. And FOX probably didn't have its own "uh-oh" moment until after the broadcast, for the same reason.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

15. Suing someone worth billions of dollars for a few million dollars is not going to make a difference.

An on-air apology is not going to make a difference. The fucktards who are actually stupid enough to go seek out the address of some random person randomly mentioned on Fox News as a terrorist are not going to abide by what happens in the lawsuit, or any retraction made by Fox. The best they can hope for is to sue Fox, get some money, and use it to move to a place where idjits won't try to firebomb them.

[Statistical]

48. No but a thousand people suing a billion dollar company for a few million will bankrupt it. n/t

[Sheepshank]

60. Fox recently won a law suit

pretty much allowing them an giving them a pass for reporting inaccurate news.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

49. Well, DUH..................

Moving is exactly the point, and I think you're very wrong about what an on-air apology would accomplish. It would call off the self-appointed vigilantes who think they're doing God's work. Maybe not entirely, but it would be a damn sight better than no apology..........................

[madmax]

58. It will make a difference to this particular family

to sue and be able to get the hell out of there and start a new life. Including enough money for the childrens college tuition.

[mrdmk]

11. This from the above referenced article

<snip>
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.

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 ," he said.
<end of snip>

Please, that last line is over the top. There are no words for this stupidity!

[G_j]

46. the best information we had at the time

how reassuring!

[katkat]

63. help the local police

If you think you have the address of a terrorist and want to help the local police, how about, oh, I dunno, calling the local police instead of inciting a lynch mob?

[SmileyRose]

12. John Loftus should be required to buy that house at 6X the market value.

it will be at least a year before anyone can live there safely again.

[Occulus]

16. .

I missed the date, too

[SmileyRose]

51. LOL

One of my pet peeves and I myself fell victim.

[tabatha]

69. John Loftus is a jerk!

He is a friend of Jon Voight. Enough said.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. What the fuck is retarded ass Fox doing giving out this kind of information anyway?

Are they trying to encourage vigilante justice?

Oh wait, it's Fox. So the answer is probably "yes."

[Mariana]

25. Absolutely. Then when the house is burned down

and/or these people are murdered, they'll report that, with all the "Breaking News!" bullshit. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they had a "reporter" set up somewhere very close by so as to be the first on the scene after it happened.

[glinda]

56. They should not give out anyone's address for any reason. Sue I say.

[Usrename]

14. What an imbecile.

Somebody should go on the air and give out HIS address and identify the place as a terrorist headquarters.

[pnorman]

17. John Loftus (from Wiki):

Loftus serves as a media commentator, appearing regularly on ABC National Radio and Fox News. On August 7, 2005, he provided the United States address of a suspected terrorist named Iyad K. Hilal on Fox News. Only afterwards was it revealed that Hilal had left the address three years previously and the home was now owned by a family that was subjected to threats and vandalism and required police protection as a result of Loftus' words.<3><4> Fox fired Loftus after the event.<5> Loftus said "I thought it might help police in that area now that we have positively identified a terrorist," but he did not say why he did not contact police in a more direct manner. Loftus apologized for the mistake and expressed frustration about FBI inaction on an earlier tip.<6>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Loftus

I was a great admirer of his efforts to track down Nazis who had sneaked into this country, and was surprised to learn that he had been on the Fox payroll. I also just noticed that the "blunder" was 4 years ago!

pnorman

[charlie]

20. Oh, boy

I hadn't noticed the date either. Eeps. That'll learn me.

[pnorman]

23. It doesn't really change the point of this thread all that much.

But that it was "old news" was definitely of importance, especially if one was to post this in another venue (a "gotcha!" could be embarrassing).

I didn't notice it myself until I had copy & pasted that wiki excerpt, and read it through! Later, I checked the LAT source and also saw the date.

pnorman

[tabatha]

70. He was on NovaM for a while.

He was a jerk.
He tried to paint himself as a leftist, but he could not help reveal his real right core.
He was hired on the basis of some of the good stuff he has down, which must be respected.

[still_one]

18. Can they sue fox? /nt

[onefreespiritedchick]

52. It looks like they did sue

http://www.courthousenews.com/blogarchive/Blog%20Archiv...

[Hekate]

21. Somebody please send this to Keith O, Rachel M, and Ed to see if anyone picks up on it. nt

[charlie]

22. No

It's 4 years old. The date's even included in the URL and I missed it.

[and-justice-for-all]

27. They need to SUE Faux's and John Loftus's ass off!! nt

[HCE SuiGeneris]

29. Any ambulance chaser worth their salt should be

knocking at the doorstep.

[moondust]

30. Sue them into obscurity! n/t

[and-justice-for-all]

31. I would not fucking hesitate...nt

[EvilAL]

32. I wonder if they ever caught Iyad K. Hilal.. nt

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[rpannier]

34. I'd sue

100,000,000 dollars

I'd accept 25 mil, an on-air apology from Murdoch and the firing of John Loftus

[Stephanie]

35. Article is from August 2005 n/t

[democracy1st]

36. K & R

[mediaman007]

37. Just goes to show that if your innocent, you have nothing to fear!

(sarcasm!)

[indimuse]

38. FAUX SPEWS

IS. A. DANGER. TO. THIS. NATION!!! and the WORLD!!!!! F*cking assholez!




knr!

[ejpoeta]

39. faux news should be liable for this.... what the hell!! you don't give out people's addresses

on tv.... i don't know how giving out personal information about someone and falsely claiming they are terrorists or anything else should be covered by any 1st amendment rights.

[Mr. Sparkle]

40. I hope they sue the ass off Fox. Those fuc**** should really be shut down.

[Xenotime]

41. The rw terrorists have started attacking.

How much longer are we going to just stand by and let this happen?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

42. Since this happened in 2005, what's happened since then?

Did the harassment die down? Did the family sue Fox and win?

[tammywammy]

62. I'm interested to know as well. n/t

[onenote]

43. update - sort of

This is a four year old story. The only update I could find is that (i) supposedly Fox fired Loftus and (ii) in September 2005 the Vorrick's filed suit against Vorrick and Fox. A copy of the complaint is here:http://www.courthousenews.com/blogarchive/Blog%20Archiv...

Couldn't find any record of what happened to the lawsuit. My guess is that Fox and Loftus quietly settled it.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

44. I think it's time to SUE!

[northernlights]

47. I hope they can sue the effing asses off someone(s)

obviously their home is now unliveable. Somebody should be paying for them to move to safer digs.

[Cha]

53. Just how stupid are those fucks over

at faux?

[fascisthunter]

54. They Should be SUed and SHUT DOWN... this is terrorism folks

right here in America by a corporate political propaganda network. They stepped way over the line with this one and should pay a hardcore price for it. Shut the down!

Their actions parallel the nazis.

[CoffinEd]

55. This says it all

From the news article: Last weekend, someone spray-painted "Terrist" on their home.

[barbtries]

57. a mistake?

i hope they have a good lawyer. this should turn out very well for the family i would think.

[rhett o rick]

59. Faux is testing the waters. Just how far can they go without being prosecuted? IMO it will get worse

I am calling an orange alert.

[Sheepshank]

61. Fox has court approval to lie

http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/06/28/court-ruling-... /

Court Ruling: Fox News Has a First Amendment Right to Lie »
Posted By metavirus 1 month, 3 weeks ago in News
«1 of 1»
A Florida Appeals court ruled there is absolutely nothing illegal about lying, concealing or distorting information by a major press organization. The court reversed the $425,000 jury verdict in favor of journalist Jane Akre who charged she was pressured by Fox Television management and lawyers to air what she knew and documented to be false information.

[ladywnch]

64. can he get their license pulled for this??? who is allowed to give out

a family's address on air.....for ANYTHING?!?!?!!!!

Showing a tit can get you fined but giving out addresses on air.....and being WRONG gets nothing?!?!?!!!!

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[David Zephyr]

66. $100 Million Lawsuit. Endangerment, Inciting Violence and Harm.

The lawyers should be lining up. Fox's lawyers are already trying to settle now.

[Juche]

67. The wingnuts can't even spell 'terrorist'

Someone spray painted 'terrist' on their property. Awesome.

[mustardman]

71. 2nd Amendment

So does this give us an excuse to shoot Faux viewers if they do this stuff to my property? If so I would gladly offer my home address and let the fun begin. Would be like shooting gophers.

NOTE to the dillusional: I'm only kidding

[1776Forever]

72. This is terrible but not surprising - Does Faux News ever check anything?

I doubt it seriously! They are only robots that are paid to put their masters propaganda on day in day out!

[donheld]

73. The Voricks should sue and become the new owners of Fox news

[pinto]

74. Locking.

It's an incident and an article from four years ago.

Thanks.