NBC News Anchor Brian Williams & His Very Tall Tale

Digital Bucket says:

As you may have heard by now NBC News has a very big problem on its hands and his name is Brian Williams. The NBC Nightly News Anchor has recently come under heavy fire for his false claims that he took fire while covering the war in Iraq in 2003. As a result the formerly respected “newsman” has become cannon fodder for Conan O’Brien on Twitter, on his show, and all over the internet.

#brianwilliamsmisremembers takes the meme further by inserting Brian Williams into other major historical events about which Williams may also have a fuzzy recollection.

Journalists are supposed to be objective. And honest. Brian Williams has now become… a joke. And it’s gotten so bad that over the weekend Williams announced that he’s taking a leave of absence from the NBC news desk – at least for now. The question is, will he ever be allowed to return?

Most folks are probably unaware that Brian Williams is a member of an organization called The Council on Foreign Relations. The CFR is a non-profit think tank that was founded in 1921, today its Honorary Chairman is uber banker David Rockefeller. We bring it up because journalists are not supposed to be fraught with conflicts of interest like enjoying membership in exclusive invite-only groups run by billionaire bankers.

The CFR connection was a concern of ours as it relates to Brian Williams for some time. Now here’s another. It appears that Brian Williams has been playing fast and loose with the facts about his own life, and he finally got busted.

Here are the dirty details: Brian Williams has been lying – or “misremembering” as he puts it – about taking RPG fire in 2003 while on board a helicopter in Iraq. Williams even recounted the tall tale about the experience for David Letterman and his national audience as recently as 2013. [Fast forward to 2:45 in the clip to watch Brian “misremember”.]

Unfortunately for Williams the pilot of the chopper that did take RPG fire that day has a different version of events, he says Williams was never on board. Williams arrived safely on another helicopter about one hour later. Now, after more than ten years of telling his version of the story, Brian Williams has recanted.

NBC News now has a very big problem on its hands: The credibility of its $13 million per year news reader. Even former NBC Newsman Tom Brokaw is calling for Williams’ head.

The lesson dear reader is this, be selective about the sources from which you consume “news”. We wonder, how much of the rest of it is a tall tale too.

You can find out even more about the Brian Williams saga at Huff Post: Brian Williams Future Uncertain As NBC News Investigates Iraq, Katrina Coverage