The Political Insider

The New York Times published a story on Friday that claimed Border Patrol agents used their horse reins to “whip” Haitian illegal immigrants.

The misinformation that began with the mainstream media reached the highest levels of government, with the agents being put on administrative duty and even President Joe Biden saying the officers would “pay” for their actions if found to be at fault.

Now, the NYT’s has issued a correction.

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Multiple Witnesses Including The Photographer Say Border Patrol Agents Did Not Whip Anyone

The story originally read, “The images of agents on horseback chasing, and in some cases using the reins of their horses to strike at running migrants, came as Mr. Biden’s administration moved to forcefully round up and deport more than 2,000 of the 15,000 migrants who gathered in a makeshift camp in Del Rio, Texas.”

“An earlier version of this article overstated what is known about the behavior of some Border Patrol agents on horseback,” the correction read. “While the agents waved their reins while pushing migrants back into the Rio Grande, The Times has not seen conclusive evidence that migrants were struck with the reins.”

The sentence update in the story now says that “images of border patrol agents on horseback waving their reins while pushing migrants back into the Rio Grande have prompted a torrent of criticism from Democrats and civil rights groups.”

This controversy stems from social media users accusing Border Patrol agents were using actual whips – until it was pointed out that the agents did not have whips.

Then social media users and mainstream media outlets used times like “whipped at” using horse reins and similar language.

Now, some are finally admitting that nothing of the sort happened.

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High Level Politicians, Including The President, Rushed To Judgment

High profile politicians including Biden commented on the matter using strong language.

Sarah Blake Morgan of the Associated Press shared footage on social media that revealed the Border Patrol agents were using the reins on the horses and were not “whipping” the migrants.

The photographer who took the photos, Paul Ratje, has also said that no one present saw Border Patrol agents whipping anyone.