The Post-Tribune on Monday published a story on Page 1 in print and online about Green Bay Packers fans recently protesting an upcoming fundraising event called “Bears and Badges,” planned for April 5 to raise money for defibrillators for the Crown Point, Indiana, Fire Department.
While the fundraiser itself is legitimate and there is a connection to former Chicago Bears players, the protest was staged by a local pastor to raise awareness of the fundraising event and was part of an April Fools’ Day prank he planned to unveil publicly on Monday.
The Post-Tribune was aware of the pastor’s prank and plans but did not include them in the story. Those details should have been included.
By omitting that the event was part of a prank and allowing readers to believe the protest was legitimate, the Post-Tribune failed to live up to its core principles of accurately portraying all news that it covers and placing such events in proper context.
We apologize to our readers for not presenting the story in full, and we apologize for failing to abide by the standards our paper has set for itself. We will work to ensure our readers remain confident that accuracy is a pillar upon which our stories are built.
