MSNBC issued a correction Tuesday and retracted a tweet that misquoted host Chris Hayes as saying the coronavirus pandemic had the potential to kill “50% of the population.”
The Monday tweet linked to an article on MSNBC.com, tagged Hayes’ account and quoted him: “There is no option to just let everyone go back out and go back to normal if a pandemic rages across the country and kills 50% of the population.”
The network later removed the erroneous post and explained why it was inaccurate.
“Correction: The quote tweeted is incorrect due to an editing error,” tweeted the account Tuesday, featuring a screenshot of the original tweet. “It should read: ‘if a pandemic rages across the country and infects 50% of the population, and kills a percentage point, at the low end’.”
NBC News has itself been affected by the pandemic. Employee Larry Edgeworth died Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to the network. He worked in the equipment room of 30 Rockefeller Center, NBC’s headquarters in New York City. He had previously spent 25 years working as an audio technician for the company.
“Many of you were fortunate enough to work with Larry over the years, so you know that he was the guy you wanted by your side no matter where you were,” NBC News chairman Andy Lack wrote in an email to staffers Friday morning.