Fact-check is your friend

The press doesn't always let the facts get in the way of a good story. Witness the following AP wire story, which ran in papers around the world this past week. Canadian news outlets needed a geographical comparison, so...

Chunk of Antarctic ice shelf collapses; global warming blamed

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published Tuesday March 25th, 2008

WASHINGTON - A chunk of Antarctic ice about the size of Newfoundland and Labrador suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 414-square-kilometre chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28.

Only one little problem.

Newfoundland and Labrador, or even Newfoundland or Labrador, is, or are, much bigger than 414 km2 in size.

So some outlets end up sheepishly and silently changing the comparison, or dropping it altogether.