A late entry for 2014’s Correction of the Year comes from The New York Times. It features an early version of a column published in error; a quote taken from ludicrous article in a fake news website that was treated as real and used without attribution; and a reference to a non-existent Chicago radio station with the call letters WGYN.
The offending article was the latest edition of Joyce Wadler’s humor column, “I Was Misinformed.” Here is what has been added (as an Editor’s Note):
An earlier version of this column was published in error. That version included what purported to be an interview that Kanye West gave to a Chicago radio station in which he compared his own derrière to that of his wife, Kim Kardashian. Mr. West’s quotes were taken, without attribution, from the satirical website The Daily Currant. There is no radio station WGYN in Chicago; the interview was fictitious, and should not have been included in the column.
Just wow. Here’s the full, fake Kanye comment (I don’t know which part ended up in the Times):
“I don’t understand why everyone is focusing on Kim’s booty.”[sic] he said. “Obviously I love her ass. That’s why I married her. But nobody has an ass like mine. I have one of the top three asses of all time.
“My booty is like Michelangelo level, you feel me? It’s like a sculpture. It’s like something that should be sitting in a museum for thousands of thousands of years. Kim? She’s got a nice ass. But it’s not at that level.
“The media hates me. That’s why they’re ignoring my butt, and putting all their attention on Kim’s. It’s the only explanation that makes any sense.” …
“Whatever. I guess,” Kanye responded. “All I’m saying is that comparing my ass to Kim’s ass is like comparing a Ferrari to a Mercedes. It’s not like a Mercedes is a bad car. But it’s no Ferrari.”
Update 9:37 p.m. ET: Joshua Benton reminded me that I could use NewsDiffs to view changes made to the column. So, here is what originally appeared:
“I don’t understand why everyone is focusing on Kim’s booty,” Kanye said in an interview on Chicago rap station WGYN, adding that he certainly loves it. “That’s why I married her,” he said. But, Kanye added, nobody has a rear end like his own.
“My booty is like Michelangelo level, you feel me?” Kanye said. “It’s like a sculpture. It’s like something that should be sitting in a museum for thousands of thousands of years.”
His wife’s behind? It was nice, Kanye said, “But it’s not at that level.”
Related: Craig Silverman’s best and worst media errors of 2013
Also related: Some classic NYT corrections. NYT corrects 161-year-old article about Solomon Northup | New York Times corrects: Writer’s name is not ‘Chillian J. Yikes’ | NYT corrects: Dick Cheney was never president | NYT corrects: It hasn’t been 924 years since Germany won the World Cup | NYT corrects date of corrections
