LATimes’ Dan Rather-Like Forged Documents in Rapper Attack Story

Posted on March 27, 2008

It looks like the L.A.Times has had to apologize for a false story they published last week that implicated rapper Sean”Diddy” Combs in a 1994 assault on Tupac Shakur during a so-called rapper’s war hit. The L.A. Times had to do an internal investigation when the website The Smoking Gun published an account detailing that the documents the L.A.Times used to base their story upon were forged and that the person who forged them was a well known con man on the rap music scene who pulled one over on the LAT — big time!

Yeah, the L.A.Times has an awful lot of egg on its face with this mess. The AP reports that TSG’s proof makes the LAT look like a bunch of bumbling idiots.

The Smoking Gun said the documents seemed phony because they appeared to be written on a typewriter instead of a computer, included blacked-out sections not typically found in such documents, and other reasons. The Smoking Gun story claims the documents were created by a convicted con man and music fan with a history of exaggerating his place in the rap music world.

Originally the LAT claimed their story was based on FBI records, interviews with people who were there at the time, and some FBI informants. Curiously enough, none of the sources were named in the LAT story, the whole thing being based on the ever famous, journalist’s best source, the “unnamed sources.” Naturally Sean “Diddy” Combs denied he had any part in the attacks on Shakur and it’s no wonder he’d say that because the LAT piece was full of puff, Daddy. Yeeh. Uh.

Now, let’s admit that this sort of website isn’t the Rapper’s paradise it could be. If only we’d wear our pants a little lower and get some more gold plating on our teeth we’d be sure to be right in with the best rap fans across the country. I’d have to also admit that it might be a bit tough for the bulk of us to lower our IQs low enough to be for real fans, but we all could try a little harder, couldn’t we, G?

Still, seeing as how we “ain’t all dat,” you might wonder why this story is appearing on our site? Well, dawg, that’d be a good question… so I won’t be frontin’ ya, an all.

The main point of this story is that the LAT really dropped the ball here. TSG had a very extensive report revealing how badly the Times did on this one and it forced the LAT to admit their “mistake” (read shoddy journalism there). It certainly leads one to wonder how many other stories they’ve published in the past are as badly researched and sourced as this one?

Now, while we here on this site lament the loss of stature that this story might cause the LAT in particular and the MSM in general, we can’t help harkening back to a little story about president Bush’s Nat’l Guard service that Dan Rather tried to foist on the American public that also turned out to be based on forged documents.

That CBS report was widely discredited by just about everyone, too. I have to say, though, that I don’t quite recall Dan Rather’s big apology on that one. So, apparently the L.A.Times is all prepared to apologize to some thug rappers for a story based on forged documents, but the president gets bupkis from a forged document story that defamed him.

I’m juss sayin’. Ya know what I’m sayin’, dawg?

» Filed Under Liberal Media/Bias, News

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One Response to “LATimes’ Dan Rather-Like Forged Documents in Rapper Attack Story”

Peter on March 27th, 2008 6:34 pm

I bet it was a set up. Keep making the white man feel bad for the black man.
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