MS NOW Retracts Report That FBI Director Kash Patel Landed In Russia

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

MS NOW has retracted a report that FBI Director Kash Patel landed in Russia on Oct. 14.

“We regret this error,” Ken Dilanian, an MS Now reporter, said on air during an afternoon show.

MS Now host Peter Alexander had said during a broadcast on Wednesday morning that he had breaking news to report – that Patel “has landed in Russia for a meeting scheduled to take place there.” He attributed the reporting to two anonymous sources, or two people “familiar with the matter.”

The FBI responded by posting a video of Patel at an event at Liberty University in Virginia. Members of Congress, including Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.), also shared photographs of themselves with Patel at the event.

“MS Now’s ‘sources’ are ‘familiar’ with NOTHING!” the FBI said in a post on X.

Ben Williamson, an FBI spokesman, wrote in another post on the social media platform: “I have had many strange experiences in life, but in tier 1 had to be seeing a clip of MS Now reporting breaking news that Kash Patel has ‘just landed in Russia’ – right as I’m receiving pics of Kash Patel doing a law enforcement appreciation event today in Lynchburg, Virginia.”

Dilanian said during a show hosted by Alicia Menendez later Wednesday that the network had “since learned that Patel did not, in fact, land in Russia today and remains in the U.S.”

After saying the FBI had not answered MS Now’s questions about the purported trip, Dilanian referenced reports alleging Patel has a planned meeting in Russia and added that some Democrats have told Patel not to attend.

“But we do know now that he has not already landed in Russia, as we reported earlier. The timing of any potential trip remains unclear,” Dilanian said. “Again, we regret this error, and we are transparent about when we make errors.”

The Society of Professional Journalists recommends that outlets identify sources whenever feasible and, if using unnamed sources, include as much information as possible without revealing details that could lead to them being identified.

MS Now did not respond to questions, including whether it plans to work with the same sources moving forward, by the time of publication.

MS Now removed a video that featured a former FBI agent commenting on the report. The former agent had called Patel a “babe in the woods” when it came to Russia. It also posted Dilanian’s apology on its website.

“This reporting has been updated in keeping with our policy of transparency, including promptly correcting any errors,” the outlet said.

President Donald Trump recently banned MS Now and several other outlets from the White House, saying they consistently reported fake news. A federal judge blocked the ban as the outlets’ legal case against it proceeds. The government has appealed the block.

Patel, following the correction, wrote in an Oct. 14 post on X, “From Russia, with Love…“

He also said MS Now “constantly tells lies about this FBI and law enforcement’s historic achievements in safeguarding the American people.”