AP falls for fake press release
The release said GE planned to repay its $3.2 billion tax refund. The Associated Press ran a story on it. Too bad it wasn’t true. UPDATE: US Uncut and the Yes Lab are the culprits.
The Associated Press published a story this morning based on a fake press release.
The release claimed General Electric would repay its $3.2 billion refund – a refund it got due to massive corporate tax breaks, as reported in a controversial New York Times story.
Business Insider managed to grab the bogus story before the AP pulled it. Here it is:
Facing criticism over the amount of taxes it pays, General Electric announced it will repay its entire $3.2 billion tax refund to the US Treasury on April 18.
GE uses a series of foreign tax havens that the company says are legal and that led to an enormous refund for the 2010 tax year.
The company earned $11 billion in 2010 on revenue of $150 billion.
The company, based in Fairfield, Conn., plans to phase out tax havens over 5 years and said it will create one job in the US for each new job it creates overseas.
The release was posted at GENewscenters.com; GE’s online newsroom is GENewscenter.com.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
