Media host Eiman al-Hossary has apologized for misreporting remarks by Mexico’s president after it was revealed that her source is a satirical news website.
Hossary, during her show on the Egyptian satellite channel Mehwar, quoted Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto as saying that his country “understands Egypt’s stance” regarding the mistaken killing of eight Mexican tourists by a military helicopter in the Western Desert Monday. The safari convoy was mistaken for terrorists entering a restriced area, according to Egyptian authorities.
Nieto, in additional satirical statements posted by the website but not quoted by Hossary, wondered why the tourists headed to the Egyptian desert in the first place, stressing Egypt’s right to “defend its lands against potential terrorists and tourists with no parking permits.”
The satirical remarks attributed to Nieto were posted by al-Ahraam al-Maxiki (Mexican al-Ahram). Hossary’s editors may have confused the website’s name with Egypt’s top government-owned newspaper Al-Ahram.
“I have to apologize for the grave professional error we committed yesterday,” Hossary said on her show Wednesday. “We reported the news without revision and that is not a small mistake,” she added.
Hossary’s show had, however, featured the correct statement by Nieto in Spanish, which said a presidential plane was heading to Egypt to retrieve the bodies of those killed and bring home the injured victims.
