The Associated Press has issued a correction to address a story from earlier this week that identified a “Sam Bacile” as the director of “Innocence of Muslims,” the film being blamed for recent violence and demonstrations in several Middle Eastern countries. From the AP:
In a Sept. 12 story about a film that sparked deadly protests in Libya and Egypt, The Associated Press quoted a man who identified himself in several phone conversations as Sam Bacile, and who said he wrote and directed the film. The AP story quoted him saying he was an Israeli Jew.
In later reporting, the AP was unable to find any public records confirming the existence of a person with that name.
The AP subsequently reported that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was the key figure behind the film.
The Wall Street Journal, which also interviewed a man who claimed to be Bacile, had previously added the following correction to its own story:
An earlier version of this article included claims by the person who identified himself as Sam Bacile that he is an Israeli-American and that he raised $5 million from about 100 Jewish donors to fund the film. Those claims weren’t confirmed and should not have been included in the article. In addition, the article has been updated to note that the name used by the person appears to be a pseudonym, based on subsequent reporting.
