CNN says its report on a freed Syrian prisoner is not what it initially believed

AP Media Writer

A report by CNN’s Clarissa Ward about a freed Syrian prisoner provided some dramatic scenes, but the network has since found that it apparently wasn’t all that it appeared. Ward and a prison guard came upon a man in a padlocked cell hidden under a blanket who said he was a civilian that had been arrested three months ago, and he appeared terrified and grateful to be freed. But CNN learned days later that the man apparently gave the network a false identity. The question for CNN is whether it should have done more reporting to verify the story before it went on the air, or if that was even possible in a chaotic sitation.